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The Ohio Country 

Between the Years 1783 and 1815 

Including 

Military Operations that Twice Saved to the 

United States the Country West of the 

Alleghany Mountains after the 

Revolutionary War 

By 
Charles Elihu Slocum 

M.D., Ph.D., LL.D. 

Member of Local, Ohio State, and American Historical 
Associations 



The War of i 775-1 783 between the United Colo- 
nies and Great Britain, was Revolutionary ; The 
War of 1 8 1 2- 1 8 1 4 between the United States 
and Great Britain, was the War of Independence 



G. P. Putnam's Sons 

New York and London 

^be linicherbocker iprcds 

1910 



Y^1°i 



S63 



Copyright, igio 

BY 

CHARLES ELIHU SLOCUM 







77^ 



Ube 'Btnicherbocher fl>res0. f^ew l^orR 



(0C1,A^-M>I383 



MEMORY OF THE PIONEERS 

OF 

THE OHIO COUNTRY 

THE OLD NORTHWESTERN AND SOUTHWESTERN TERRITORIES 

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

THIS BOOK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



PREFACE 

nPHE early and most trying times in the history 
■*■ of the Old Northwestern Territory, and of 
its great neighbor, the Southwestern Territory, 
divided only in a physical sense by the Ohio River, 
is a subject that should ever be of interest, and of 
value to everyone, of every land, especially as a 
study in patriotic endurance. 

The story presents people strong in brain and 
in brawn, descendants of Anglo-Saxon and of 
Celtic stocks, the ancestors of most of whom had 
been several generations in America, having origi- 
nally settled here one hundred and fifty years be- 
fore; a people who loved their new homes in the 
forest country as well as the homes of their nativ- 
ity in the Colonies along the Atlantic shore, now 
separated from their early habitat by several hun- 
dred miles, and by mountains hard to traverse. 

This isolated people were often made to feel 
that they and their new country were forgotten 
by the legislators and others in authority in the 



VI 



Preface 



regions whence they came ; and during many years 
their struggles were not alone for subsistence, but 
for the protection of themselves and their chil- 
dren from prowling Savages, who were seeking 
their scalps and lives, or to drive them from their 
adopted country. 

In preparing this book the writer has had in 
mind the general reader who wants a direct ac- 
count of the subject about which he desires to 
read, with enough of detail for supplementation, 
when such detail is obtainable. 

Such readers have generally noticed that his- 
tories of the United States, even the largest ones, 
when mentioning this extensive and invaluable 
region at all, give a very scant account of the 
dangers which would have attended its loss to the 
American Union, or of the military operations 
that twice, at least, saved it to, and maintained 
it in, the Union. 

In writing it is easier, for several reasons, to 
generalize than to focus one's attention on the 
detail that shows the animating principle, or want 
of principle, that influenced the lives, thoughts, 
acts, and accomplishments of the people. This 
statement may explain how it is that many write 
so much and yet impart so little of practical 
information. 



Preface vii 

The character of the sufferings of Americans, 
before the Revolutionary War and for thirty years 
after, in this trans-Allegheny region particu- 
larly, exacts strong language even in its mildest 
portrayal. 

The tragic story here written has, however, a 
very pleasant conclusion for Americans. At its 
beginning, naught but dark clouds of selfishness 
and savagery hung low in the horizon, frequently 
bursting out into storms that caused great suf- 
fering and disaster, and that would have over- 
fatigued and driven from the country, never to 
return, the survivors, had they possessed less 
strong and self-reliant characters. 

Disagreements among the Eastern Colonies, and 
later among the States into which these Colonies 
were transformed, occasionally foreboded evil to 
the union of the Ohio Country with the East and, 
at times, even foreboded disruption of the Union 
among the States themselves. 

However, the War of 1812-1814 came, and 
ended, as a blessing to both the East and the 
West, in that it consolidated, and cemented, 
the States and Territories into a nation with not 
only valuable experiences, but with heightened 
and reciprocated regard for one another in- 
stilled into the component parts, and with 



viii Preface 

greater forbearance, improved ideals and powers 
among all. 

True civilization receives impetus from the les- 
sons of the past. History should be truthfully 
and fully written, even though its pages record 
horrible deeds. 

The habitual use of intoxicating beverages was 
a strong factor in much of the savagery recorded 
in the following pages, as well as being the cause 
of the inefficiency of several Americans in author- 
ity during this time, of the older military com- 
manders particularly. 

By reading, and keeping in mind, an authentic 
account of the trials and sufferings of the early 
settlers in gaining and maintaining liberty from 
oppression and savagery, people are more likely 
to appreciate liberty gained in this way, and to 
remain more intent upon its preservation. 

Charles E. Slocum. 
Toledo, Ohio. 



CONTENTS 

PAGI 

CHAPTER I 

Introduction ...... i 

The Settling of the British and French in America 
—Their Inebriation of the Aborigines — Made 
them Savages Indeed — Habitual Contention for 
Ascendancy — Success of the British with the 
Savages, and against the French — Use of Sav- 
ages against Colonists during Revolutionary 
War by the British the same as against the 
French in Previous Years. 

CHAPTER II 

British Direct Non-Observance of Treaty 
OF Paris, and then Sign the Treaty . i8 

The First Years Following the Revolutionary War 
— The First Northwestern Boundary Line — The 
Aborigines Willing to be Friends of the United 
States— Causes of their Alliance with the 
British — The British Continue to Hold Military 
Posts in Opposition to Treaty — Large Amount 
of American Property Purloined by the British. 

CHAPTER III 

Development of the West Checked by 
British Influences. • • • • 33 

Aborigine Claims to Land Based on Conquest, 
which Claims the Savages and the British were 



X Contents 



Not Willing to Accede to the United States, 
their Conqueror — Treaties with Aborigines — 
Reservations — Cession to United States of 
Western Claims by States — Civil Organizations 
— Surveys for Settlements — Ohio Land Com- », 

panies — Fort Finney Built — Continued Control 
of Aborigines by British — Expeditions against 
Savage Marauders — Desire in the West for 
Independence from the United States — Unau- 
thorized Retaliations on Spaniards Allayed. 

CHAPTER IV 

Continued Nefarious Work with the 

Savages ....... 42 

Activities of the British against the United 
States — -Their Main Fort in American Territory 
Strengthened — Benedict Arnold with them — 
Organization of the Territory Northwest of the 
Ohio River — Increase in Population — Other 
Civil Organizations — More Systematic Efforts 
to Check British Influence with American 
Aborigines — Forts Built — Reports of the exten- 
sive Savage Work Done by the Aborigines — 
Cannibalism. 

CHAPTER V 

Further Culmination of the Inefficient 
Management of Affairs .... 52 

Statement of the Conditions by Jurist from Per- 
sonal Observations — Necessity for Relieving 
the Long-continued and Severe Sufferings — 
Kentucky Territory Organized — Other Civil 
Organizations — General Harmar's Expedition 
against Hostile Savages at Head of Maumee 
River — His Army Twice Defeated by them — 
Their Celebration of Victory at Detroit with 



Contents xi 



their British Allies — Panic along Frontier — The 
Weak, Inefiicient American Conduct of Affairs 
Reviewed. 

CHAPTER VI 

Overwhelming Success of the Enemy . 62 

More Troops Gathered for Defence — Messenger 
Sent to the Senecas for Peace Agents — British 
Opposition — Expedition against Hostile Sav- 
ages Successful — Army Gathered for Decisive 
Blow to the Marauding Savages — Commanded 
by General, and Governor, St. Clair, it Meets 
Overwhelming Defeat — Women with the Army. 

CHAPTER VII 

Further Nefarious Work Culminating . 78 
Great Efforts of British Allies — Distress of Frontier 
Settlements — British Fear Loss of Fur Trade — 
Advance of Civil Jurisdiction — General Wayne 
Chosen to Lead Another Army against the 
Hostiles — Further Treaties with the Aborigines 
— Secret Efforts to Learn Status of the British — 
Largest Council of Savages for British Confed- 
eration — Kentucky Admitted as a State — Forts 
Built by Americans — Commissioners Appointed 
to Attend the Great Council — Their Object 
Defeated by the British — Specific Charges of 
Fraud and Force by British Presented to the 
British Minister. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Retributive Justice Marches on against 
Great Opposition ..... 95 
Advance of General Wayne's Army — Opposed 
by the Enemy — Builds Forts Greenville and 



xii Contents 



Recovery — Cause of British Aggressiveness yet 
More Apparent — Other Enemies of the United 
States — Separation of the Ohio Country from 
the United States again Suggested — British 
Build Two Additional Forts within United 
States Territory — Protests of the United States 
of No Avail — British and their Savage Allies 
Attack Fort Recovery and Are Repulsed — 
Further Account of Great Britain's Guiding 
Hand. 

CHAPTER IX 

Wayne's Army Defeats a Hydra op Con- 
spiracies ...... 

Further Advance of Wayne's Army — A Most 
Momentous Campaign — Builds Forts Adams 
and Defiance — The Enemy Flees — Wayne's Last 
Overture for Peace — The Army Nears the 
Enemy — Builds Fort Deposit, and Advances 
to Complete Victory — Buildings and Crops of 
British and their Allies Destroyed — Wayne's 
Emphatic Letters to the Commandant of Fort 
Miami — The Casualties — Army Returns and 
Strengthens Fort Defiance — The Red Savages 
— British Strengthen their Forts in United 
States Territory. 

CHAPTER X 

The Taming of the Broken Savage Spirit . 

Wajme Marches his Army to the Site of the Miami 
Villages — There Builds Fort Wayne — Receives 
and Makes Valuable Friends of Deserters from 
the British — Disaffection of Kentucky Volun- 
teers — They are Sent Home — Savage Scouts 
Active at Fort Defiance — Wayne's Suggestion 
of General Council with Aborigines Meets Favor. 



PAGE 



I 



Contents xiii 



CHAPTER XI 

The Most Important of all Treaties with 

THE Savages . . . . . -131 

Discipline in the Army — Wayne's Diplomacy in 
Winning the Savages to Peace — His Agents in 
the Work — Exchange of Prisoners — The Treaty 
of Greenville, August 3, 1795 — Number of 
Tribes in the Agreement. 

CHAPTER XII 

The West Gains Possession of Part of its 

Rights . . . . . . 144 

Treaty with Spain Favorable to the West — Aban- 
donment of Forts — British again Endeavor to 
Seduce the Aborigines of the United States — 
The Jay Treaty Favorable to the West — British 
Surrender American Forts — Death of Gene- 
ral Wayne — Wayne County Organized — More 
French and Spanish Plots — Separation of the 
West from the East again Suggested — British 
Threaten Spanish Possessions in the South. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Advancement of Civil Government, and Ex- 
tension OF THE West .... 156 

Mississippi Territory Organized — General Wash- 
ington again at the Head of the Federal Army 
— Spanish Surrender their Forts in United 
States Territory — First Legislature of North- 
western Territory Convenes — Indiana Territory 
Organized — Public Lands — Connecticut Cedes 
her Claims to the United States — Religious 
Missionaries — Population — Continued British 
Usurpations — Evidences of the Rising Power 
of the United States — Treaty with France — 



xiv Contents 



Louisiana Territory Purchased — Development 
of Communication — Military Posts — Ohio Ad- 
mitted as a State — The Aborigines — Additional 
Treaties with them — Fort Industry Built — 
Michigan Territory Organized — Aaron Burr's 
Last Scheme. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Conspiracy of the British, Tecumseh, and 
THE Prophet ...... 167 

Further Treaties with, and Payments to, the 
Aborigines — The British Continue Meddlesome 
— Reservations — United States Settlers by the 
Lower Maumee River — Land for Highways 
Treated for — Illinois Territory Organized — 
Another British-Savage Trouble Gathering — 
Trading Posts for the Aborigines Established — 
Reports of Gathering Trouble from United 
States Military Posts — The British Continue to 
Trade Intoxicating Liquors to American Abo- 
rigines in Opposition to Law. 

CHAPTER XV 

Results of Further Remissness of the 
Government ...... 180 

Regarding Trading Posts or Agencies — Conspir- 
acy of the British and Tecumseh Deepens — 
Reports from Military Posts — Battle of Tippe- 
canoe — Continued Organization and Depreda- 
tions by the Allied Enemies of the United 
States — Missouri Territory Organized — More 
Cannibalism by the Savages. 

CHAPTER XVI 

Sad Beginning of the War for Indepen- 
dence ....... 194 

Tardy Action of Congress — Declaration of War 
against Great Britain — This War of 1812 the 



Contents xv 



Real War for Independence — The Army of the 
Northwest the First in the Field — Forts Mc- 
Arthur, Necessity, Findlay, and Miami Built — • 
Sad Inefficiency of General Hull — He Orders 
the Abandonment of Fort Dearborn — Massacre 
and Cannibalism by British Allies — Hull Surren- 
ders Fort at Detroit without Effort for Defence 
— Brave and Patriotic Work by Captain Brush. 

CHAPTER XVII 

Slow Progress in Preparing to Meet the 
Enemy ....... 204 

Efforts to Repair Hull's Loss — General Harrison 
Appointed Commander-in-Chief — Siege of Fort 
Wayne Relieved — General Winchester Ap- 
pointed to Succeed Harrison without Cause. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Extreme Sufferings of Kentucky Soldiers 212 

General Winchester Assumes Command of the 
Army — Harrison Directs Clearing of Roads and 
Building of Forts Barbee, Jennings, and Amanda 
— Winchester Marches Army from Fort Wayne 
to Defiance — British Force Checked on their 
Way to Fort Wayne — Harrison Reappointed 
Chief in Command of Northwestern Army — 
Visits Winchester at Defiance and Settles Dis- 
cord — Plans Fort Winchester, which Was Built 
at Defiance — Extreme Sufferings of Winches- 
ter's Left Wing of the Army — Battle of Mis- 
sissinewa River. 

CHAPTER XIX 

The Second Great Disaster of the War of 

1812 ....... 222 

Advance of General Winchester's Army from De- 
fiance — Safe Arrival at Presque Isle below 



xvi Contents 



Roche de Bout — There Builds Fort Deposit — 
Unwise Advance of Army to the Raisin — Defeat 
and Massacre — Harrison Gathers a New Army 
and Takes Command — Fort Deposit Aban- 
doned — Fort Winchester again the Frontier 
Post — Fort Meigs Built — Efforts to Strike the 
Enemy Unavailing. 

CHAPTER XX 

A Third Great Disaster in the First Year 
OF the War ...... 233 

The Northwestern Army Neglected by the General 
Government — General Harrison not Distracted 
by Unwise Advisers— Investment and Siege of 
Fort Meigs — Reinforcements for the Fort Diso- 
bey Orders — They Are Surrounded and Captured 
—Further Massacre and Cannibalism by British 
Allies — The Enemy Raises Siege and Retreats. 

CHAPTER XXI 

Second Great Effort of the Enemy Una- 
vailing ....... 244 

The British Gather More Savage Allies — More 
Preparations by Americans for Advancing 
upon the Enemy — Celebration of Fourth of July 
by Soldiers in the Forest — The Enemy Becom- 
ing More Active — Fort Seneca Built to Retain 
Friendship of Aged Aborigines — Second Invest- 
ment of Fort Meigs by Increased Force — Scheme 
for its Capture Unavailing — Second Retreat of 
Enemy from Fort Meigs. 

CHAPTER XXII 

Another Signal Repulse of the Allied 

Enemy ....... 256 

British Surround and Attack Fort Stephenson — 
They are Brilliantly Repulsed by Captain Cro- 
ghan — They again Retreat to Fort Maiden. 



Contents xvii 



CHAPTER XXIII 

The Entire Force of the British on Lake 
Erie Captured ..... 262 

Renewed Efforts for Squadron of Armed Vessels 
Successful — Oliver H. Perry Builder and Com- 
mander — His Difficulties — He Sails for the Ene- 
my — Communicates with Harrison — Meets and 
Captures All of the British Squadron — Perry's 
Despatches after the Battle — The Killed and 
Wounded — Description of Squadrons. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

The Americans Seek the British at Fort 
Malden ....... 275 

Definite Preparations for the Invasion of Canada — 
Observance of the Day of Fasting and Prayer — 
A Sham Battle — Enthusiastic Enlisting in Ken- 
tucky for the Invasion — Aged Aborigine War- 
riors Join the Ranks — The Crossing of Lake 
Erie — Arrival at Fort Maiden — Found De- 
serted and Fired by the Enemy. 



CHAPTER XXV 

The British Pursued and Captured at the 

Thames ....... 284 

Pursuit of the British through Canada — Detroit 
Recovered by Americans, who Hasten to Com- 
plete Victory at the Thames — Aborigines Desert 
their Allies and Flock to the Americans- — Gen- 
eral Cass Appointed Military and Civil Governor 
of Michigan Territory — Name of Detroit's Fort 
Changed to that of Shelby — Kentucky Troops 
Return Home by Way of the Raisin. 



xviii Contents 



CHAPTER XXVI 

The Ohio Country Free from the Savage 
Alliance ...... 292 

Proctor's Request and Harrison's Reply — Harrison 
Goes to Reinforce Army of the Centre — Period 
of Quiet in the Ohio Country — General Harrison 
Resigns — Renewed Efforts for Defence and Ad- 
vance — Scarcity of Food and Money — Further 
Neglect by Eastern Authorities — Expeditions 
through Canada — Unfortunate Expedition to 
the North. 

CHAPTER XXVII 

Success of the War for Independence 
Assured ....... 303 

The Treaty of Ghent Closing the War of 18 12-14 
— Further Confirmation of American Claim of 
Notorious Methods by the British. 

Index . . . . . . . . 311 



The Ohio Country 

Between the Years 1783 and 1815 



The Ohio Country 



CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

The Settling of the British and French in America — Their 
Inebriation of the Aborigines — Made them Savages In- 
deed — Habitual Contention for Ascendancy — Success of 
the British with the Savages, and against the French — 
Use of Savages against Colonists during Revolutionary 
War by the British the Same as against the French in 
Previous Years. 

PRENCHMEN, early in the seventeenth cen- 
^ tury, were the first Europeans to explore the 
American country about the Great Lakes and the 
upper Mississippi River. The course of their 
travel at first, and for many years after, was up 
the St. Lawrence River to Montreal, thence up the 
Ottawa River to Mattawa, thence along the out- 
let and through the Lakes Talon and Trout, 
thence by portage to Lake Nipissing, through it 



2 The Ohio Country 

and down its outlet the French River into Georg- 
ian Bay, and thence southward and westward. 

The British^ ranged along the Atlantic coast 
south of the St. Lawrence Gulf. They did not 
abandon their quarrels with the French on leaving 
England; in fact they added to the old, a new 
grievance against the French because of the lat- 
ter' s settlement in the new country which the 
British claimed by "the right of discovery," 
though this discovery was only a part of the 
Atlantic shore line. 

During the one hundred and fifty years following 
the coming of the French, quarrels and wars raged 
in America and elsewhere between these two peo- 
ples. Here the French had the advantage for sev- 
eral generations, owing to their early explorations, 
their maps, and their early free association with 
and amiable treatment of the Aborigines. Their 
first, and principal, association was with the Al- 
gonquins and the Huron (Wyandot) tribe, both 
of whom were often at war with the Iroquois of 
New York. The latter controlled the country 
south of the course of the French, and southward 
from Lake Erie and thence westward even to the 

» The term British is here used to designate the combined 
force of EngUsh, Irish, Scotch, and other Europeans who, at 
different times, acted with them. 



Introduction 3 

Mississippi River. For a long time this condition 
had much to do with keeping the French to the 
northward. 

The skins of fur-bearing animals were the prin- 
cipal gain derived by the French, first the coureurs 
des hois particularly; and they gratified in addi- 
tion their love of adventure and of free life among 
the Aborigines, which life the roaming French 
sought later to make free also from the taxes of 
the Church and the government. Instead of en- 
deavoring to elevate the Aborigines to their degree 
of civilization, many of them descended to the 
level of the Aborigines. 

As for the Aborigines, the Frenchmen's brandy 
was to them a revelation. At first merely a pleas- 
ing and exhilarating beverage, this soon became a 
necessity in increasing quantity; a drink which, 
with them as with countless multitudes before 
and since, civilized according to their times and 
associations, was in their more sober moments 
considered the bane of their lives. It was a drink 
which held them in abject slavery and was ob- 
tained at any cost; for its use had developed in 
them a thirst for it that outvalued and overbal- 
anced every other consideration. The French- 
men in trading had also given them knives of 
steel to replace the clumsy, flint knives of native 



4 The Ohio Country 

workmanship; also metal tomahawks, and, later, 
flint-lock muskets; with which weapons, when 
elated with the brandy, they felt more than equal 
to the French themselves. These weapons, with 
the brandy, made them Savages indeed ; the fierc- 
est and most dangerous known to history. 

The British, also, became strong competitors 
of the French; the government for the taxes and 
the traders for their profits in the fur trade among 
the Aborigines. At first they dealt with the Al- 
gonquins of New England and the Iroquois of 
New York. Then the Algonquins and the Huron 
(Wyandot) tribe of the West were invited, by 
agents, who distributed among them strong drink 
and gaudy presents, to visit the chief executive 
in New York. Nothing pleased the Aborigine 
chiefs more, while resting from war, than to jour- 
ney hundreds of miles for such a visit, as they were 
sure of being fed to satiety, and fully loaded with 
presents for the return; and the new bidder, there- 
fore, was given the preference in their estimation,, 
for there was always a prospect of better terms 
with him than those received from the former 
dealer. 

The impassive manners and "heavier drinks" 
of the Englishmen did not, in the estimation of 
the Aborigines, displace the more affable French- 



Introduction 5 

men with their brandy until, by degrees, the 
British general government showed its power 
and its attractions, by its armies, by the new pro- 
ducts of its looms, and by the larger number and 
the improved versatility of its traders among 
the larger tribes. Not until the year 1760 did 
the British succeed the French government in 
America. 

During all these many generations of intrigue 
and war between the British and French, the 
Aborigines and their descendants (all of whom will 
continue to be here designated Aborigines or 
Savages, the term ' ' Indian " being an ancient mis- 
nomer that should not be perpetuated) were tu- 
tored in intrigue and savagery; and they were 
apt pupils in everything seen among their tutors 
that was worse than that to which they had been 
addicted. 

For an untold number of generations the Sav- 
ages had been reared to war with other tribes, and 
it was inculcated in them that their highest am- 
bition should be to inflict the greatest injury pos- 
sible upon every individual and tribe they might 
think worth exploiting for any cause, or for no 
cause. The intoxicating beverages and modem 
weapons received from their new tutors made 
them good allies in the eyes of these tutors. The 



6 The Ohio Country 

British and the French vied with each other in 
bidding intoxicating beverages, weapons, and other 
things desired by them, each for the purpose of 
winning the trade and the warrior support of the 
Savages against the other. 

The French sent missionaries and traders among 
the Iroquois; but with great effort the British 
succeeded in retaining most of the trade of these 
"Six Nations" and their good will. Had the 
French succeeded in their efforts with this strong 
confederacy, the final result of their contention 
with the British would have been delayed, if 
not altogether different. 

In the year 1747, the British succeeded in caus- 
ing a conspiracy of Chief Nicholas and the Hurons 
(Wyandots) against the French; but the latter 
soon regained the friendship of this strong tribe. 

Scalps of both British and French, taken by the 
Savages, were purchased by both respectively; 
a most inhuman bidding for the lives of each other 
that reacted disastrously upon both. For a time 
the Savages could get scalps either way they 
roamed; and at times neither purchaser could feel 
sure he was not buying scalps taken from his own 
countrymen. 

The Savages, themselves as low in the scale of 
humanity as it seemed possible to descend, were 



Introduction 7 

often cloyed, wearied to satiety, by the unceasing 
intrigue and bloodshed between the Europeans, 
which had been going on in America for fully five 
generations. 

But the British have ever been noted for their 
persistency as well as for their aggressiveness, and 
the final victory over the French in America was 
theirs in the year 1760, in which year the French 
forts at Detroit and elsewhere were peacefully 
surrendered to them. 

The troubles of the British with the western 
tribes of Savages, however, did not end with the 
acquisition of the fort at Detroit, and the fort at 
the head of the Maumee River; which forts had 
been the centres of many merry entertainments 
of the Savages, and had witnessed the equipping 
of war parties by the French against the British. 
The Savages had not yet witnessed enough of 
the power and resources of the British to fully 
understand why they should not continue with 
the French, or set up war against the British 
themselves. 

Then came the Conspiracy of Pontiac, with 
which the British had to deal at a great expense of 
life and money. Much diplomacy was needed 
also before they were at all comfortable in the hope 
of securing the Savages as allies in war, which had 



8 The Ohio Country 

been their policy from the first. At different times 
later, they had a great fear that there would be a 
federation of all the largest northern and southern 
tribes against them. As late as February 1 8 , 1 7 7 1 , 
Sir William Johnson, their greatest Aborigine 
agent, wrote to the British Secretary of State in 
part as follows: 

" It is really a matter of the most serious nature, for 
if a verry small part of those people have been capable 
of reducing us to such straits as we were in a few years 
since, what may we not expect from such a formidable 
alliance as we are threatened with, when at the same 
time it is known that we are not at this time more 
capable of defiance, if so much, as at the former period. 
This is in some measure the consequence of their be- 
coming better acquainted with their own strength 
and united capacity to preserve their importance & 
check our advances into their country." 

With the allaying of this fear, came a new op- 
position to the British government in America, 
from the British colonists themselves ; and, as the 
opposition to the impositions on the colonists 
increased, the London and local governments felt 
more and more the desire, and apparent necessity, 
for greater efforts to ally the Savages firmly to 
them, and against the colonists. Surely a strong 
and even savage alliance was being formed to 
compel subjection of the colonists, and to yet 



Introduction 9 

further impoverish those who had already been 
impoverished beyond a reasonable limit by the 
mother country in her wars to overcome the 
French. 

At this late day, at least, the British govern- 
ment should have recognized the full worth of the 
character of the Pilgrims and Puritans; the value 
of the conscience that drove them into the distant 
wilderness one hundred and fifty years before, 
which conscience, with renewed and renewing love 
of freedom, had been transmitted to their descend- 
ants through the generations, and had been im- 
parted to thousands of Great Britain's hardy, 
good citizens who, during these many years, had 
followed their countrymen into this new country. 
It has been many times shown that the British 
government had seldom, if ever, taken thought 
of such sentiment, and proper action regarding it. 

Those in authority during this period of time, 
and later, for forty years at least, were not actuated 
by humanitarian motives, but by a selfish desire 
to compel those of the blood of their own country- 
men — who had been bom and reared in the atmos- 
phere of self-sustaining, if not full, freedom — to 
absolute obedience to force , wholly regardless 
of the consequences to the colonists. Could any 
government have been more thoughtless, even 



lo The Ohio Country 

outrageous, in the treatment of its subjects? 
Could any self-respecting people longer consent 
to live under such a government ? These were the 
questions uppermost in the minds of the colonists. 

It is the office of this Introduction to briefly 
sketch part of the action of the British authorities 
in further tutoring the Aborigines in savagery, 
and more firmly allying them to their efforts to 
conquer the colonists during the Revolutionary 
War, as somewhat of a preparation and perspec- 
tive for what follows. 

Detroit was the principal western post of the 
French, and it became such to the British immedi- 
ately after their conquest of the French. 

When the Revolutionary War seemed immi- 
nent, the office of Lieutenant-Governor and 
Superintendent of Indian Affairs was created 
for the western country, with headquarters at 
Detroit. Captain, afterwards Colonel, Henry 
Hamilton of the 15th Regiment of British troops 
was appointed to this office. Arriving at Detroit 
November 9, 1775, he assumed the duties required 
of him. He proved tactful toward the Savages, 
cruel and remorseless toward the Colonists. 

Previous to this date "war belts " had been sent 
out from Detroit to the different tribes for their 
meetings in council; and such "councils" had been 



Introduction ii 

held, in which rum flowed freely, its insidious 
effects being supplemented by every incitement 
calculated to inflame the Savages against the Amer- 
cans "who were endeavoring to crowd them from 
their lands, and now had rebelled against the 
good king, their father, who was distributing so 
many presents and kindnesses to his Indian chil- 
dren." Early in September, 1776, the new officer, 
Hamilton, wrote to Lord George Germain, his 
superior in office, that "The Ottawas, Chippewas, 
Wyandottes and Pottawatomies, with the Senecas 
would fall on the scattered settlers on the Ohio 
and its branches . . . whose arrogance, disloyalty 
and imprudence has justly drawn upon them this 
deplorable sort of war." 

Lord Germain took pleasure in employing agents 
who would incite the Savages of the wilderness to 
"fall on the Americans." He had complained of 
Sir Guy Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester, 
Governor of Canada, for not making full use of 
the Savages; and Carleton later acquiesced in this 
inhuman work. Carleton wrote to Hamilton, 
October 6, 1776, to "Keep the Indians in readi- 
ness to join me in the Spring, or march elsewhere 
as they may be most wanted." 

War parties of Savages, thoroughly equipped, 
and commanded by British officers, were sent out 



12 The Ohio Country 

from Detroit, east, south, and to the southwest, 
wherever they could find the most defenceless 
American settlements in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vir- 
ginia, and Kentucky, to plunder and to kill. 
Places of refuge were attacked and, if the protect- 
ors could be overcome, all the wounded and feeble 
were massacred and the others taken captive, per- 
haps to suffer a more painful death. Governor 
Hamilton reported to Secretary Germain under 
date July 27, 1777, that he had sent out fifteen 
war parties composed of two hundred and eighty- 
nine Savage warriors with thirty British officers 
and rangers. He reported to Governor Carleton 
January 15, 1778, that: "The parties sent from 
hence have been generally successful, although 
the Indians have lost men enough to sharpen their 
resentment; they have brought in 23 prisoners 
alive, twenty of which they presented to me, and 
129 scalps." 

Occasionally a war party would number several 
hundred, but usually they were much smaller, 
viz.: August 25, 1778, fifteen Miamis were started; 
September 5th, thirty-one Miamis; September 9th, 
one Frenchman, five Chippewas, and fifteen Mia- 
mis, are the statements of a few of the individual 
reports. Hamilton reported September i6th that 
his parties "had taken thirty-four prisoners, sev- 



Introduction 13 

enteen of which they delivered up, and eighty- 
one scalps." 

All scalps were paid for. When the Savages 
started out on their raids, the Governor, and some- 
times the commandant of the post also, encouraged 
them by singing the war song, by the gift of some 
weapon, or by passing the weapons of the Savages 
through their own hands, by this act "taking hold 
of the same tomahawk" to show full sympathy 
in the murderous work. On their return to De- 
troit the Savages were sometimes welcomed by 
the firing of the fort's cannon. Hamilton was 
charged with having stated prices for American 
scalps, but generally none for prisoners. 

The flow of rum was so great in Detroit, and the 
activity of the Savages was so much impaired 
thereby, that an official inquiry was instituted by 
Governor Haldimand. Only active persons were 
wanted; and the British organization and disci- 
pline pervaded every quarter. 

Governor William Tryon of New York wrote 
to Secretary Germain in London, under date July 
28, 1779, that: "My opinions remain imchangeable 
respecting the utility of depradatory excursions. 
I think Rebellion must soon totter if those ex- 
cursions are reiterated and made to extremity." 

Captain Lemoult at Detroit did not prove him- 



14 The Ohio Country 

self equal to the demands of his more cruel supe- 
riors, and he was superseded in October by Major 
Arent Schuyler De Peyster, a pronounced loyalist 
from New York. 

Efforts were renewed to establish more effective 
war parties of Savages. Some scalps had been 
brought in, but the letters of the new command- 
ant to Governor Haldimand under date of Octo- 
ber 2oth and November 20th show disgust at the 
great quantities of rum drunk by the Savages ; and 
also at their inefficiency, for the Savages feared 
to make any more effective raids owing to their 
dread of American retaliation. 

The successes of the Americans, aided by some 
Frenchmen, at Vincennes and at the Illinois posts 
under command of the patriotic, brave, and in- 
trepid Colonel George Rogers Clark, one of which 
entailed the capture of the notorious Lieutenant- 
Governor Hamilton, with his command and sup- 
plies, induced many American families to move 
from the East in the autumn of 1779; and during 
the next spring three hundred family boats arrived 
at the falls of the Ohio River, near the present 
city of Louisville, Kentucky, with immigrants 
from the East. 

The Savages were generally more inactive dur- 
ing the cold weather; but they were started out 



Introduction 15 

early in the spring. Colonel De Peyster reported 
May 16, 1780, that: 

"The prisoners daily brought in here [Detroit] are 
part of the thousand families who are flying from the 
oppression of Congress in order to add to the number 
already settled in Kentuck, the finest country for 
new settlers in America; but it happens, unfortunately 
for them, to be the best hunting ground of the Indians 
which they will never give up and, in fact, it is our 
interest not to let the Virginians, Marylanders, and 
Pennsylvanians get possession there, lest, in a short 
time, they become formidable to this post." 

May 26th De Peyster wrote to Captain Patt. 
Sinclair, who had been named Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Mich- 
ilimackinac (now called Mackinac) for the more 
northern district, that: "Everything is quiet here 
except the constant noise of the war drum. All 
the Seiginies [Saginaw Aborigines] are arrived at 
the instance of the Shawnees and Delawares. 
More Indians from all quarters than ever known 
before, and not a drop of rum!" 

June ist, De Peyster wrote to Governor Haldi- 
mand that he had already fitted out two thousand 
warriors and sent them along the Ohio and Wa- 
bash rivers; and the returns were hundreds of 
scalps and prisoners. 

Various plans were made by the Americans for 



i6 The Ohio Country 

the capture of Detroit, but sufficient military 
force could not be gathered. Appeals were made 
to General Washington, who fully appreciated the 
necessity for decided action in this direction, but 
he replied: 

"It is out of my power to send any reinforcements 
to the westward. If the States would fill their Con- 
tinental battalions, we would be able to oppose a reg- 
ular and permanent force to the enemy in every 
quarter. If they will not, they must certainly take 
measures to defend themselves by their militia, how- 
ever expensive and ruinous the system." 

The various claims of the Eastern Colonies to 
the territory west of the Allegheny Mountains, 
based on old English charters, had been the cause 
of friction between these Colonies for many years, 
and it required yet more time to adjust properly 
this and similar affairs to the Colonies' mutual 
advantage. 

Continued attacks of the Savages on the fron- 
tier, resulting in great loss of life to the Americans,^ 
including the defeat of militia and volunteers sent 
against the marauders, caused fresh and increased 
terror among all the frontier settlements. Thomas 
Jefferson, then Governor of Virginia, appealed to 
General Washington for aid and received reply, 
written at New Windsor December 28, 17S1, that: 



Introduction 17 

"I have ever been of the opinion that the reduction 
of the post of Detroit would be the only certain means 
of giving peace and security to the whole western 
frontier, and I have constantly kept my eyes upon 
that object; but such has been the reduced state of 
our Continental force, and such the low ebb of our 
funds, especially of late, that I have never had it in 
my power to make the attempt." 

Other attempts by the Colonies, and settlers in 
the West, to reduce the British post at Detroit 
reacted unfavorably upon those making them, 
from their want of a sufficient number of well dis- 
ciplined men. Nor could the frontier settlements 
with their refuge blockhouses be well protected 
against the great number of thoroughly organized 
British forces, principally Savages, which were 
continually being sent out from Detroit up to the 
close of the Revolutionary War. Even when at- 
tained, the desired peace was of short duration, 
as will be told in the following pages. 



CHAPTER II 

BRITISH DIRECT NON-OBSERVANCE OF TREATY OF 
PARIS, AND THEN SIGN THE TREATY 

The First Years Following the Revolutionary War — The 
First Northwestern Boundary Line — The Aborigines 
Willing to be Friends of the United States — Causes of 
their Alliance with the British — The British Continue 
to Hold Military Posts in Opposition to Treaty — Large 
Amount of American Property Purloined by the British. 

nPHE Treaty of Paris closing the Revolutionary 
•*■ War was signed at Versailles September 3, 
1 783 , about ten months after the preliminary agree- 
ment which stopped hostilities. This treaty dis- 
tinctly set forth that the territory south from the 
middle of the Great Lakes and their connecting 
waters, and east from the middle of the upper 
Mississippi River, should belong to the United 
States, and that Great Britain should "with all 
convenient speed" withdraw her troops and be- 
longings from Detroit and other parts of this 
territory. 

18 



From 1 783- 1 79 1 19 

The American Aborigines were willing, as they 
had been in 1760 at the time of the British suc- 
cession to the territories of the French, to befriend 
the nation which gave them presents most mu- 
nificently and which most freely indulged their 
sensualities accordingly. In May, 1783, Benjamin 
Lincoln, the American Secretary of War, sent 
Ephraim Douglas to the Aborigines of Ohio, and 
farther west, to encourage, and win, their friend- 
ship to the United States, they having been "al- 
lies" of the British during the war, and not 
inclined to stop hostilities in compliance with 
the agreement. 

Douglas arrived at Sandusky, Ohio, the 7th of 
June and passed some days in that place with 
the Delaware Aborigines; he then went among the 
Wyandots, Ottawas, and Miamis along the lower 
Maumee River. On July 4th he arrived at Detroit, 
and there Colonel De Peyster, British commandant 
of the post, called a council, ostensibly in the 
American agent's favor, at which the following 
tribes were represented, viz. : Chippewa, Delaware, 
Kickapoo, Miami, Ottawa, "Oweochtanos," Pian- 
kishaw, Pottawotami, Seneca, Shawnee, and Wy- 
andot. Mr. Douglas reported: 

"Most of them gave evident marks of their satis- 
faction at seeing a subject of the United States in the 



20 The Ohio Country 

country. They carried their civilities so far that my 
lodging was all day surrounded with crowds of them 
when at home, and the streets lined with them to at- 
tend my going abroad, that they might have an op- 
portunity of seeing and saluting me, which they did 
not fail to do in their best manner with every demon- 
stration of joy." 

Mr. Douglas returned to Niagara on July nth 
and his further reports lead to the inference that 
he did not comprehend the full cause of the ad- 
herence of the Savages to the British during the 
war, or the mercenary cause of their dogging his 
steps during his visit among them; and that he 
had no foreboding of the many bloody years that 
were to follow. 

The British allowances to the Aborigines had. 
largely ceased when the agreement preliminary to 
the treaty was signed. The Savage "allies" were 
therefore short of rum and provisions; and they 
hoped to receive from the agent of the conquering 
nation fresh and more liberal supplies.^ 

> The cause of the popularity and continued successes of 
the British with the Aborigines is plain, and to the discredit 
of both parties. They outbid the French, and the Americans, 
in their lavish giving of intoxicants and articles that delighted 
the palates and eyes of the Savages; and exceeded other na- 
tions in the general, and special, aid extended the Savages 
for the free indulgence of their bloodthirsty natures enhanced 
by strong drink. The British expenditures for this purpose 
during the Revolutionary War grew apace, and in the view 



From 1 783- 1 79 1 21 

The British government was fully apprised of 
the difficulties, and the improper aggressiveness, 
of its conduct toward and with the American 
Aborigines, before and after the close of the war. 
Colonel De Peyster early saw the danger of the 
course prescribed for him, and he wrote to Gov- 
ernor Haldimand accordingly. 

Also, immediately after the preliminary treaty 
of Paris, the British began to experience the em- 
barrassment of their desired relation to the Abo- 
rigines, — of the difficulties in retaining their full 
influence over them while lessening expenditures 
for them. Colonel De Peyster reported from De- 
troit to Governor Haldimand's secretary June 18, 
1783, before the arrival there of the American 
agent, Ephraim Douglas, that: 

"We are all in expectation of news. Everything 
that is bad is spread through the Indian country but, 

of the central office the amounts became "enormous and 
amazing," aggregating millions of dollars. From December 
25, 1777, to August 31, 1778, there were received at Detroit 
371,460 barrels of flour; 42,176 lbs. fresh beef; 16,473 1^^. 
salt beef; 203,932 lbs. salt pork; 19,756 lbs. butter; and great 
quantities of mutton, corn, peas, oatmeal, rice, and rum. In 
the summer of 1778 fifty-eight and a half tons of gunpowder 
were sent to Detroit from Niagara, of which the Savages re- 
ceived the largest share, as there were in Detroit August 30, 
1778, but four hundred and eighty-two militiamen with little 
use for ammunition in or near the fort. For additional state- 
ments, see Zeisberger's Diary, and Slocum's History of the 
Maumee River Basin. 



2 2 The Ohio Country 

as I have nothing more than the King's proclamation 
from authority, I evade answering impertinent ques- 
tions. Heavens! if goods do not arrive soon, what 
will become of me ? I have lost several stone weight of 
fiesh within these twenty days. I hope Sir John 
[Johnson, British Superintendent of Indian Affairs] 
is to make us a visit." 

To prevent complications, and consequent quar- 
rels, the United States Congress, in 1783, forbade 
the purchase of land from the Aborigines by indi- 
viduals or companies. The British, however, con- 
tinued their machinations with these Aborigines. 

Agent Ephraim Douglas reported February 2, 
1784, that early in the fall of 1783, Sir John John- 
son assembled the different western tribes of Abo- 
rigines on United States soil, at Sandusky, Ohio, 
and having prepared them with lavish distribution 
of presents, addressed them in part as follows, 
Simon Girty being their interpreter, viz.: 

"The King, his and their common father, had made 
peace with the Americans, and had given them the 
land possessed by the British on this continent; but 
the report of his having given them any part of their 
[the Aborigines'] lands was false, and fabricated by 
the Americans for the purpose of provoking them 
against their father; that they should, therefore, shut 
their eyes against it. So far the contrary was proved, 
that the great River Ohio was to be the line between 
the Indians in this quarter and the Americans, over 



From 1 783- 1 79 1 23 

which the latter ought not to pass and return in 
safety." 

It had become evident, in other ways, also, 
that the British, although defeated in war, yet 
had ulterior designs against the young Republic. 
The definitive Treaty of Paris reads in part that: 

"His Britannic Majesty shall with all convenient 
speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying 
away any negroes or other property of the American 
inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and 
fleets from the said United States, and from every 
post, place, and harbor within the same." 

The British had not complied with this agree- 
ment nor made any effort to do so at nine or 
more posts, viz.: Point au Fer and Dutchman's 
Point, by Lake Champlain; Oswegatchie near the 
present Ogdensburg, New York; Oswego, Niagara, 
Fort Erie, Sandusky, Detroit, Michilimackinac, 
and perhaps one or two more small places ; Detroit 
being the principal post of all for their purpose. 

General Washington had not been pleased with 
the trend of affairs. In the interest of peace with 
the British, and between the frontier settlements 
and Aborigines, he sent Baron von Steuben of the 
United States Army to Governor Haldimand of 
Canada, July 12, 1783, to ask that orders be issued 
for the withdrawal of the British troops from 



24 The Ohio Country 

Detroit and other posts in American territory, 
whence they persisted in dominating the Aborigi- 
nes throughout Ohio and the Southwest. The 
reply was that no orders had been received from 
his superior for such withdrawal. Governor 
Clinton was refused the surrender of the posts in 
New York May lo, 1784, as was Governor Chit- 
tenden of Vermont, the posts in his State by Lake 
Champlain. Haldimand afterward wrote that 
these demands by States were easily answered; 
"the Treaty being with Congress, a post could not 
be surrendered to a State " ; a point well taken. 

A formal demand for the surrender of these 
posts was sent by General Knox, Secretary of War, 
by messenger Lieutenant-Colonel William Hull, 
July 12, 1784. Again Haldimand' s reply was that 
he had received no orders to evacuate the posts, 
which, while truthful in a sense, was a dissimu- 
lation, as he had received orders not to evacuate 
them; and, under the circumstances, he should 
have had honor enough to so state. 

The Treaty of Paris was ratified by Congress 
Januaryi4,i784,andbyGreatBritain April 9, 1784. 
The British ministry had decided before this time 
to hold the posts, and the Secretary so notified 
Haldimand in a letter which was dated the day 
before the ratification. Here was perfidy and du- 



/ 



From 1 783-1 791 25 

plicity in keeping with many other orders from 
Great Britain and with acts of her agents in Amer- 
ica, both before and after this date. 

No one could be found to give tangible expla- 
nation or reason for the non-compliance with the 
treaty. How different this from the last injunc- 
tion of Lord Chatham, in his reply to the Duke of 
Richmond, who, when the British cause in Amer- 
ica was tottering, said, "if we must fall, let us 
fall like men!" 

In her supreme arrogance, Great Britain dis- 
dained sending a minister to the United States. 
John Adams, however, was sent to England in 
1785 as Minister or Agent, but was received gen- 
erally with indifference. Writes one of England's 
historians : 

"The King, who had previously declared to some of 
his attendants that he looked forward to his first in- 
terview with this new minister as the most critical 
moment of his life, received him very graciously, and 
said to him, with that honest candor which was a 
conspicuous part of his character, ' I was the last man 
in the kingdom, sir, to consent to the independence 
of America; but, now it is granted, I shall be the last 
man in the kingdom to sanction a violation of it.' " 

We read further: 

"The King, on coming to the crown, had supposed 
that he had nothing to do but to study the welfare 



26 The Ohio Country 

of his people; but he soon found that he had also to 
study the tempers and jealousies of his ministers, who, 
though they were his ostensible servants, were, in 
fact, his masters." 

This was not the condition of affairs evident in 
the year 1775, from which time his Majesty's 
officers in America complied literally, and liber- 
ally, with his injunction to Lord Dunmore, Gover- 
nor of Virginia, "to arm the negroes and Indians " ; 
and, also, with his positive orders to Guy Johnson, 
agent among the Six Nations of Iroquois in New 
York: "to secure their assistance, to . . . Lose no 
time; induce them to take up the hatchet against 
his Majesty's rebellious subjects in America. It 
is a service of very great importance; fail not to 
exert every effort that may tend to accomplish it; 
use the utmost diligence and activity." 

This was the keynote to one of the most unholy 
and inhuman alliances known to history. Fail 
not to exert every effort that may tend to accom- 
plish the alliance of the American Savages, the 
worst in history, with the British, was the British 
slogan throughout the Revolutionary War and 
for many years thereafter, particularly in the old 
Northwestern, and Southwestern, Territories. 

The conscientious General Washington sug- 
gested, December 14, 1784, that possibly the non- 



From 1 783-1 791 27 

payment of individual debts to British subjects 
might be a reason (he did not say a valid one) for 
the British retention of American posts; and the 
British slowly got hold of this idea. Minister 
Adams, during his efforts in London to get some 
satisfaction for their non-compliance with agree- 
ment, could only get an occasional hint about 
debts. The Marquis of Carmarthen, being pressed 
by Adams, was led to state that the posts would 
not be delivered until the debts were paid. Adams 
warmly replied that such payment was not stipu- 
lated in the treaty; and that no government 
undertook to pay the private debts of its subjects. 
Adams could do no more, in fact nothing, to get 
what he considered a respectful hearing and proper 
treatment of this or of other questions relating to 
the best interests of the two countries, or to the 
United States, and he returned home. 

While showing no favor to the United States 
the British desired to have an official representa- 
tive in the country that they might be kept in- 
formed regarding the sentiments and acts of the 
people, and of the government. For this purpose, 
Sir John Temple was appointed consul in Novem- 
ber, 1785, and, upon discussion of the matter, he 
was received by the State Department as a favor 
to Great Britain. 



28 The Ohio Country 

In December, 1786, Phineas Bond was sent to 
London as consul to Great Britain from New York, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. After a 
period of hesitancy on the part of the government, 
he was received ; and in later years it was acknow- 
ledged by the British that Mr. Bond was of service 
to them, and no complaints were made by the 
States that sent him. 

The United States government instituted in- 
quiries regarding the laws of the several States 
against the collection of debts by foreigners; and 
some such laws that might prove obnoxious to 
some subjects of Great Britain were repealed.^ 

Early in 1791, Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of 
State, sent Gouverneur Morris to London as pri- 
vate agent, to learn the sentiment of the British 
ministry regarding: "ist. Their retention of the 
American military posts; 2nd, Indemnification for 
the Negroes carried away by the British soldiers; 
3rd, A treaty for the regulation of commerce, and 
4th, The exchange of ministers." 

Morris, from his more affable nature and his 

• In this connection, see Benjamin Franklin's articles on 
Sending Felons to America, and his Retort Courteous for sar- 
casm regarding the British desire to be paid by the people 
whose property they had destroyed after the treaty, either 
personally or at any rate through their allies. Also compare 
the Laivs of Virginia regarding claims ; and several letters of 
Henry Knox, Secretary of War, No. 150, Volume i, 



From 1 783- 1 79 1 29 

greater love for high society, also probably from 
his more facile business training, dwelt much nearer 
the governing forces in London than did Adams; 
and his powers of observation, and discernment, 
were none the less clear. He felt obliged to report' 
that the British 

" were decided not to surrender the posts in any 
event; and as our courts were shut against the collec- 
tion of debts, they suggested indemnification on our 
part, and that they would set it so high (if it was ad- 
mitted) as to insure disagreement; that they had 
measures for concealing the Negroes carried away; 
and lastly, that they equivocated on every proposal 
of a treaty of commerce." 

Here, at last, was somewhat of a statement, 
gathered piecemeal and informally, showing that 
the British, as usual, continued to arrogate to 
themselves the right to treat the United States 
disrespectfully, according only to their supreme 
selfishness, regardless of the formal treaty! 

A recent English writer says*: 

"Considering the clouded state of the political hori- 
zon, it is not surprising that Morris's patience was 
tried by an unwillingness of the British ministers to 
commit themselves to any arrangement with him. 
As statesmen of the Old World, they could condone 

> Edward Smith, in his England and America after Inde- 
pendence, page 23. 



30 The Ohio Country 

the irregularity of his secret mission. But it was their 
business to temporize, and see what turn European 
affairs would take." 

This confession of selfish arrogance was probably 
the truth of the matter. They had the advantage 
over the young Republic, and were determined to 
keep it, while alleging the complexity of European 
troubles as an excuse. 

Not a word was at this time uttered regarding 
improper treatment of their friends, the Tories, 
many of whom remained even after the with- 
drawal of the British armies, and for whom the 
tender conscience of some American statesmen 
had awakened some sympathy in the States. It 
is probably true that in some parts of the States 
the treatment of loyalists (Tories) did not fully 
accord with the phrasing of the Treaty of Paris 
on this subject; though it did accord with right 
and reason. There had been many instances of 
extreme violence during the war by these loyalists 
against the hard-pressed colonists ; instances where 
they had taken up arms and led the British against 
their neighbors, and otherwise clandestinely 
caused the death of neighbors on account of their 
efforts for independence ; and it was beyond reason 
that such persons (Tories) would be welcomed as 
though they had the full rights of patriots, or even 



From 1 783-1 791 31 

tolerated in such neighborhoods after the close of 
the war. The Americans quite agreed that all 
such persons should have departed with the 
British. For them to remain on or near the scenes 
of so much suffering and bloodshed, as constant 
reminders of their participation in the cause of 
it, was but to invite the punishment they fully 
deserved. 

In August, 1 79 1, Great Britain sent her first 
Minister, George Hammond, to the United States. 
He was well received; and President Washington 
soon appointed Thomas Pinckney Minister to 
Great Britain. Secretary Jeffferson, in his direct 
way, soon approached Hammond regarding the 
continued occupancy of American military posts 
by British troops, and requested their with- 
drawal. "Being pressed as to the full extent 
of his powers," Hammond acknowledged that he 
was not empowered to perform any definite act 
or agreement, and that his instructions were of 
a general "plenipotentiary" character. 

President Washington's proclamation of neu- 
trality between the French and British in another 
of their quarrels, and his later letter to the 
French expressing general confidence, together 
with the requested recall of the French Min- 
ister by the United States government, displeased 



32 The Ohio Country 

the parties at home and abroad, as is usual in 
such cases. 

The British plot was deepening. For her in- 
creasing European war expenditures, she was 
receiving great profits from her continued depri- 
vation of the United States of the American Abor 
rigine trade. By retaining the United States' 
posts, she could continue to dominate the Abo- 
rigines and the western country in its trade, and 
possibly in its destiny. 



CHAPTER III 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST CHECKED BY BRITISH 

INFLUENCES 

Aborigine Claims to Land Based on Conquest, which Claims 
the Savages and the British Were not Willing to Accede 
to the United States, their Conqueror — Treaties with 
Aborigines — Reservations — Cession to United States of 
Western Claims by States — Civil Organizations — Surveys 
for Settlements — Ohio Land Companies — Fort Finney 
Built — Continued Control of Aborigines by British — Ex- 
peditions against Savage Marauders — Desire in the West 
for Independence from the United States — Unauthorized 
Retaliations on Spaniards Allayed. 

T^HE Aborigines continued to be unsettled and 
* to threaten the peace ; and the United States 
government continued a pacific policy toward 
them and the British. 

The Legislature of New York for some time 
after the Treaty of Paris favored the expulsion 
from American territory of the Six Nations (the 
Iroquois of New York), on account of their in- 
stability and treachery; but this question was 
3 33 



34 The Ohio Country 

finally settled by the United States Congress 
in favor of continued forbearance, and it was de- 
cided that efforts be made to keep them as fully 
as possible from British influence ; to civilize them 
by treaty, and to confine them to narrower limits 
by gradually and nominally purchasing their 
claims to territory unnecessary to them. 

Accordingly, October 22, 1784, a treaty was 
effected at Fort Stanwix, on the site of the present 
city of Rome, New York, where the Six Nations 
relinquished all claims to the country west of the 
Allegheny Mountains. These claims were based 
on the idea, shared alike by them and the British, 
that they were entitled to this territory by virtue 
of their conquest of the western tribes; but they 
did not want to accord the Americans a similar 
right to this territory, which the Americans had 
wrested from these Savages, as well as from the 
British, by hard-won victories. 

Virginia ceded to the United States all of her 
right, title, and claim, derived by charter from 
Queen Elizabeth, to the country northwest of the 
Ohio River, March i , 1784. Congress was prepared 
for this act, and by a committee, of which Thomas 
Jefferson was chairman, reported the same day a 
plan for its temporary government. The names 
proposed for the divisions of this territory not 



From 1 784-1 787 35 

meeting with approval by Congress, they were 
erased from the plan April 23d; and later this sug- 
gested plan for division was rejected. 

Continuing its humane policy toward the Abo- 
rigines, the United States, by Commissioners 
George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler, and Arthur 
Lee, met the chiefs of the Chippewa, Delaware, 
Ottawa, and Wyandot tribes at Fort Mcintosh, 
on the right bank of the Ohio River at the mouth 
of Beaver Creek about twenty-nine miles below 
Pittsburg, and January 21, 1785, effected a treaty 
in which the limits of their territory were agreed 
upon as follows: the Maumee River on the west, 
and the Cuyahoga on the east; from Lake Erie to 
a line running westward from Fort Laurens, by 
the Tuscarawas River, to the portage on the head- 
waters of the Miami River, at Loramie; all being 
in the present State of Ohio. Reservations were 
made by the United States of tracts six miles 
square, at this portage, at the mouth of the 
Maumee River, and two miles square at the lower 
Sandusky River. Three Aborigine chiefs were 
to remain hostages with the Commissioners until 
all American prisoners then held by the Aborigines 
were surrendered. 

Overtures for treaty and peace were also made 
to the Miami, Pottawotami, Piankishaw, and other 



36 The Ohio Country 

western tribes, but, through the influence of the 
British and French with whom they associated, 
and who were in opposition to the American sys- 
tem of government, land surveys, and definite 
land titles, the desired treaty could not be effected. 
A large council of these tribes, however, was held, 
the following August, at Ouiotenon, generally 
known as Wea, by the Wabash River, where the 
policy of continuing savage raids on American 
frontier settlements was inculcated. 

On April 19, 1785, the Legislature of Massa- 
chusetts released to the general government her 
claims in the Northwestern Territory, excepting 
a small part in southeastern Michigan which was 
released May 30, 1800. This claim, like other 
claims by the Colonies, was based on the old 
English charters, or patents, the English deriving 
their right from their discovery of the Atlantic 
shore. 

The desire of the immigrants from the Eastern 
States to obtain western lands for settlement be- 
came so great after the treaty of Fort Mcintosh, 
that this, combined with the necessity of estab- 
lishing permanent lines for titles, induced Con- 
gress to pass, on May 20, 1785, "An Ordinance 
for Ascertaining the Mode of Disposing of Lands 
in the Western Territory," which provided for 



From 1 784-1 787 37 

the survey and marking of lines of townships, 
water-power sites, etc. 

"Several disorderly persons having crossed the 
Ohio River and settled upon unappropriated 
lands," Congress passed an act, June 15, 1785, 
prohibiting such intrusions, and commanding the 
intruders "to depart with their families and effects 
without loss of time, as they shall answer the 
same at their peril." This action was taken to 
protect the lives of the would-be settlers, as two 
members of the four families who settled near the 
mouth of the Scioto River were killed by Savages 
in April. The action of Congress was also intended 
to allay the antipathy of the Savages, while pre- 
paring the country for formal settlement. It was 
dwring this summer that the extensive purchases 
of land by the Ohio Company of Associates, and 
by John Cleves Symmes, w^ere negotiated. 

A few United States troops occasionally passed 
along the Ohio River from Fort Pitt (now Pitts- 
burg) to and from Vincennes and Kaskaskia, escort- 
ing officers, carrying despatches, and convoying 
supplies. October 22, 1785, the building of Fort 
Finney was begun by Major Finney's command on 
the bank of the Big Miami River, about a mile 
above its mouth in the Ohio. Here, on January 3 1 , 
1786, commissioners effected a treaty with the 



38 The Ohio Country 

Shawnees, with Wyandot and Delaware represent- 
atives as witnesses, wherein land was allotted to 
them southwest of that allotted at the treaty of 
Fort Mcintosh, and extending to the Wabash River, 
with like conditions. Hostages were retained for 
the return of American captives, as at other 
treaties; but the hostages escaped, and very few 
captives were returned. The Miamis and other 
tribes farther west were urged to participate in 
these treaties, but they again decHned, they being 
more strongly under British influence.^ 

A large number of settlers from the East con- 
tinued to come into the Ohio River Valley; and 
depredations on them by the Savages became so 
frequent and exasperating that a thousand Ken- 
tuckians, under command of General Clark, 
marched to Vincennes against the tribes along 
the Wabash River in the fall of 1786; but poor 
supplies and disaffection among the volunteers 
caused the expedition to return without having 
punished the enemy. 

Nearly eight hundred mounted riflemen under 
Colonel Benjamin Logan were fitted out against 
the hostile Shawnees, and, detouring the head- 

• See the United States State Department MSS., No. 56, 
pages 345, 395, and No. 150. Also the Haldimand Papers 
during 1784 to 1786. 



From 1 784- 1 787 39 

waters of Mad River, in the present Clark and 
Champaign counties, Ohio, they burned eight 
large towns of the Aborigines, destroyed many 
fields of corn, killed about ten warriors including 
the head chief, and captured thirty-two prisoners. * 

On September 14, 1786, the State of Connecticut 
released in favor of the United States her claims 
to lands in the Northwestern Territory excepting 
her "Western Reserve" from the forty-first de- 
gree of latitude to that of forty-two degrees and 
two minutes, and from the western line of Penn- 
sylvania to a north and south line one hundred 
and twenty miles to the west; and that State 
opened an office for the disposal of that part 
of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga River, the 
eastern boundary of the territory allotted to the 
Aborigines. 

With the increasing population west of the Alle- 
gheny Mountains, the free navigation of the Mis- 
sissippi River became a paramount question; and 
some misconceptions regarding Secretary John 
Jay's efforts for a treaty with Spain, combined 
with the activities of designing men, some of 

» For full description of the temper of the Savages and of 
the American settlements, and of efforts of the general gov- 
ernment for peace, see United States State Department MSS., 
Nos. 30, 56, 60, and 150. Also the Draper MSS. in the Wis- 
consin Historical Society Library. 



40 The Ohio Country 

whom were allied to British interests, caused 
commotion in the Ohio Valley, increasing among 
the settlements to a clamor for independence, or 
separation from the American Union. General 
George R. Clark, whose active command, to curtail 
expenses, had been withdrawn July 2, 1783, act- 
ing with others at Vincennes, decided to garrison 
the abandoned Post Vincennes. An independent 
company of men was enlisted early in October, 
1786, and, with this company, the goods of Spanish 
merchants at Vincennes and elsewhere along the 
Ohio River were seized with a ' ' determination that 
they should not trade up the river, if they would 
not let the Americans trade down the Missis- 
sippi." The Council of Virginia decided positively 
against these measures February 28, 1787; and, 
by resolution of Congress, April 24th, the United 
States troops along the Ohio River were directed 
to take immediate and efficient measures "for dis- 
possessing a body of men who had, in a lawless 
and unauthorized manner, taken possession of 
Post Vincennes in defiance of the proclamation 
and authority of the United States." The re- 
cently brevetted Brigadier-General Josiah Harmar, 
with a small force of United States soldiers, then 
took possession of the post, and allowed Clark 
and his followers to return to their homes. Thus 



From 1 784- 1 787 41 

was averted a possible war with Spain and France 
combined. 

The Americans engaged in these overt acts wrote 
to their friends that "Great Britain stands ready 
with open arms to receive and support us. They 
have already offered to open their resources for 
our supplies." 



CHAPTER IV 

CONTINUED NEFARIOUS WORK WITH THE SAVAGES 

Activities of the British against the United States — Their 
Main Fort in American Territory Strengthened — Benedict 
Arnold with them — Organization of the Territory North- 
west of the Ohio River — Increase in Population — Other 
Civil Organizations — More Systematic Efforts to Check 
British Influence with American Aborigines — Forts 
Built — Reports of the Extensive Savage Work Done 
by the Aborigines — Cannibalism. 

T^HE animus of Great Britain at this time is 
•*- further shown by a letter of March 22, 1787, 
from Sir John Johnson to Joseph Brant, the most 
prominent chief of the Six Nations (Iroquois), 
regarding the miHtary posts yet held by the British 
in American territory. This is given in part as 
follows : 

"It is for your [the Aborigines'] sake, chiefly, that 
we hold them. If you become indifferent about them 
they may, perhaps, be given up . . . whereas, 
by supporting them you encourage us to hold them, 
and discourage the new settlements . . . every 

42 



From 1 787- 1 790 43 

day increased by numbers coming in who find they 
cannot live in the States." 

Arthur St. Clair, then Representative in Con- 
gress from Pennsylvania, also reported April 13, 
1787, the continued infraction of the Treaty of 
Paris regarding these forts. 

The noted Virginia loyalist (Tory) Doctor John 
Connolly, who had been active against the col- 
onists during the Revolutionary War, and was yet 
a British subject, resident in Canada, again be- 
came active for his king, traversing Ohio and Ken- 
tucky in 1787, '88, '89 in efforts to alienate the 
American settlers from the East, and to ally them 
with the British for the purpose of capturing the 
Spanish territory by the lowxr rivers and control- 
ling the Mississippi Basin. General James Wil- 
kinson charged that Connolly was an emissary 
direct from Lord Dorchester, then Governor of 
Canada, and Wilkinson himself was not free from 
suspicion of being engaged in a similar scheme. 
The probability of the correctness of Wilkinson's 
charge against Connolly, however, was strength- 
ened by the fact that, in June of this year, the 
British garrison at Detroit was largely reinforced 
from lower Canada, and the next year the forti- 
fications were rebuilt and strengthened by order 
of Lord Dorchester, who was then there. 



44 The Ohio Country 

These warlike preparations on American terri- 
tory continued for some length of time, and simi- 
lar preparations were occasionally made for several 
years. ^ Benedict Arnold was reported as being in 
Detroit about June i, 1790, inspecting the British 
troops; and on August 25th, President Washing- 
ton took official notice of the British prepara- 
tions, which were evidently for a Mississippi 
campaign. 

The Congressional Committee on the Territory 
Northwest of the Ohio River reported, July 7, 1786, 
a plan for its division ; and the full Ordinance for 
the government of this Territory was made a law 
July 13, 1787. This "Ordinance of 1787" marks 
an era in legislative history. The principal officers 
for the Northwestern Territory under this Ordi- 
nance, who were appointed October 5 th, to enter 
upon their duties February i, 1788, were the 
following: Governor, Major-General Arthur St. 
Clair; Judges, Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Var- 
num, and John Armstrong; Secretary, Winthrop 
Sargent. John Armstrong declining to serve, 

* See James Wilkinson's Memoirs, volume ii; Charles E. 
A. Gayarre's History of Louisiana, volume iii; State Depart- 
ment MSS.; Virginia State Papers, volume iv; Draper MSS.; 
Gardoqm MSS., etc. For accounts of the treachery and sav- 
agery of the Aborigines during these years, see United States 
State Department MSS., and Draper MSS. 



From 1 787-1 790 45 

John Cleves Symmes was appointed to fill the 
vacancy. 

It was estimated that within a year after the 
organization of this Territory, twenty thousand 
men, women, and children from the Eastern States 
passed down the Ohio River to settle in the Ohio 
River Basin. 

The renewal of military preparations by the 
British in this Territory, centering at Detroit, had 
an exciting effect upon the American Aborigines, 
who had long been impatient of their enforced 
quiet. The increasing settlements in southern 
Ohio, and south of the river, on lands reHnquished 
by the Aborigines in treaties, and the completion 
of the organization of the Territory, were eagerly 
accepted as incentives for repeating their murder- 
ous raids upon the settlements. 

To allay the maraudings. Congress, July 21, 
1787, directed the Superintendent of Aborigine 
Affairs for the Northern Department, or, if he was 
unable to attend to it. General Josiah Harmar, to 
proceed to the most convenient place and make 
treaty both with the Aborigines of the Wabash 
River country and with the Shawnees of the central 
western part of Ohio, and to grant them all assur- 
ances consistent with the honor and dignity of the 
United States. 



46 The Ohio Country 

These and repeated like efforts for peace were 
unavailing. Thereupon the first instructions by 
Congress to Governor St. Clair in 1788 were: 

I. Examine carefully into the real temper of the 
Aborigines. 2. Remove if possible all causes of con- 
troversy, so that peace and harmony may be estab- 
lished between the United States and the Aborigine 
tribes. 3. Regulate trade among the Aborigines. 

4. Neglect no opportunity that offers for extinguish- 
ing the Aborigine claims to lands westward as far as 
the Mississippi River, and northward as far as the 
completion of the forty-first degree of north latitude. 

5. Use every possible endeavor to ascertain the names 
of the real head men and warriors of the several tribes, 
and to attach these men to the United States by every 
possible proper means. 6. Make every exertion to 
defeat all confederations and combinations among the 
tribes ; and conciliate the white people inhabiting the 
frontiers, toward the Aborigines. 

The county of Washington in the Northwest 
Territory was organized in 1778 within the present 
limits of Ohio; and Governor St. Clair and the 
judges adopted and published laws, both civil 
and criminal, for the government and protection 
of the Territory. 

Governor St. Clair succeeded in effecting with 
the Six Nations another treaty, January 9, 1789, 
this time at Fort Harmar at the mouth of the Mus- 
kingum River by the Ohio ; also with the Chippe- 



From 1 787-1 790 47 

was, Delawares, Ottawas, Pottawotamis, Sacs, 
and Wyandots; all of whom confirmed the bound- 
ary of Aborigine claims according to previous 
treaties. These Aborigines at this treaty received 
from the United States six thousand dollars in 
money, additional to the payments with former 
treaties. But a few weeks, however, sufficed to 
again demonstrate their insincerity, and treachery, 
their maraudings being resumed with the opening 
of spring. 

General Henry Knox, Secretary of War, re- 
ported to President Washington June 13, 1789, 
that murders by Savages were yet being com- 
mitted on both sides of the Ohio River, and that 
the inhabitants w^ere exceedingly alarmed through 
the extent of six or seven hundred miles ; that the 
settlers had been in constant warfare with the 
Savages for many years; and that: 

"The injuries and murders have been so reciprocal 
that it would be a point of critical investigation to 
know on which side they had been the greater. Some 
of the inhabitants of Kentucky the past year, roused 
by recent injuries, made an incursion into the Wabash 
country and, possessing an equal aversion to all bear- 
ing the name Indians, they destroyed a number of 
peaceable Piankishaws who prided themselves in 
their attachment to the United States. . , . By 
the best and latest information it appears that by the 
Wabash and its communications there are frorti fifteen 



48 The Ohio Country 

hundred to two thousand warriors. An expedition 
with a view of extirpating them, or destroying their 
towns, could not be undertaken with a probabiUty of 
success with less than an army of two thousand and 
five hundred men. The regular troops of the United 
States on the frontiers are less than six hundred, of 
which number not more than four hundred could be 
collected from the posts." 

The posts referred to were Forts Pitt, Harmar, 
Steuben, at the Falls of the Ohio River, and 
Vincennes. 

The Kentuckians again decided to avenge some 
wrongs they had recently suffered and, on August 
26, 1789, Colonel John Hardin led two hundred 
volunteer cavalrymen across the Ohio River at 
the Falls, and to the Wabash. They killed six 
Aborigines, burned one deserted town, and des- 
troyed what corn they found, returning September 
28th without the loss of a man. 

President Washington addressed Governor St. 
Clair October 6th desiring full information re- 
garding the Wabash and Illinois Aborigines, and 
requesting that war with them be averted if pos- 
sible; but authorizing him to call not more than 
one thousand militiamen from Virginia and five 
hundred from Pennsylvania, if necessary, to co- 
operate with the Federal troops in the Territory. 
The Governor was also directed to proceed to exe- 



From 1 787-1 790 49 

cute the orders of the late Congress regarding 
French and other land titles at Vincennes 
and in the Illinois country, and other matters of 
organization. 

Somewhat later, in the autumn of 1789, Major 
Doughty' s troops built Fort Washington within 
the site of the present city of Cincinnati, which 
fort served a useful purpose for several years. 

Governor St. Clair and the judges started by 
boat from Marietta to execute President Wash- 
ington's instructions about January i, 1790, and 
stopped at Fort Washington where they organized 
the county of Hamilton, and changed the name 
of the settlement about Fort Washington from 
that of Losantiville to Cincinnati. Proceeding 
down the Ohio River, they arrived at Clarksville 
on January 8th; and thence passed to the Illinois 
country where they organized St. Clair County, 
which was to embrace all of the United States' 
country west of Hamilton County. 

To further carry out the President's instructions, 
a prominent French merchant of Vincennes, An- 
toine Gamelin, who well understood the temper of 
the Savages, and by whom he was favorably 
known, was commissioned by Major Hamtramck 
to visit and conciliate those Aborigines along the 
Wabash and Maumee rivers. He started on this 



5o The Ohio Country 

mission April 5, 1790; and his report evidenced a 
desire on the part of the older men of the weaker 
tribes for peace; but they could not stop their 
young men, who "were constantly being encour- 
aged and invited to war by the British " ; and they 
were dominated by the stronger tribes, who, in 
turn, were dominated by the British from whom 
they received their supplies. All reproached him 
for coming to them without presents of intoxi- 
cants and other suppHes. On April 23 d, Mr. 
Gamelin arrived at the Miami towns, at the head 
of the Maumee River, where the Miamis, Dela wares, 
Pottawotamis, and Shawnees united in telling 
him they could not give reply to the American 
overtures for peace until they had consulted the 
British commandant of the fort at Detroit; they 
desired, and were given, a copy of the message to 
them that they might show it to the commandant 
at Detroit. The British traders in this village 
were present at the meetings. 

Gamelin, being unable to get any satisfaction 
from the Savages, started on his return from 
the Miami villages May 2d; and on the nth 
reports were received at Vincennes that, 
three days after his departure, an American 
captive was roasted and eaten by the Savages 
at the head of the Maumee River; and that 



From 1 787- 1 790 51 

the tribes were sending out war parties in addi- 
tion to those already operating along the Ohio 
River. 

With hope to check the more active Savages, 
during the latter half of April, Brigadier-General 
Josiah Harmar, United States Agent, with one 
hundred regular troops, seconded by General 
Charles Scott, with two hundred and thirty Ken- 
tucky volunteers, made a detour of the Scioto 
River, Ohio. They destroyed the food supplies 
and huts of the hostile Savages but shot only four 
of them — reporting that "wolves might as well 
have been pursued.'! 



CHAPTER V 

FURTHER CULMINATION OF THE INEFFICIENT 
MANAGEMENT OF AFFAIRS 

Statement of the Conditions by Jurist from Personal Obser- 
vations — Necessity for Relieving the Long-continued and 
Severe Sufferings — Kentucky Territory Organized — ■ 
Other Civil Organizations — General Harmar's Expedi- 
tion against Hostile Savages at Head of Maumee River 
— His Army Twice Defeated by them — Their Celebra- 
tion of Victory at Detroit with their British Allies — 
Panic along Frontier — The Weak, Inefficient American 
Conduct of Affairs Reviewed. 

CARLY in July, 1790, Judge Henry Inness of 
-*-^ Danville, Kentucky, wrote to the Secretary 
of War, in most part as follows: 

" I have been intimately acquainted with this dis- 
trict from 1783, and I can with truth say that in this 
period the Indians have always been the aggres- 
sors — that any incursions made into their country 
have been produced by reiterated injuries committed 
by them — that the predatory mode of warfare they 
have carried on renders it difficult, and indeed impos- 

52 



From 1 790-1 794 53 

sible, to discriminate, or to ascertain to what tribe 
the offenders belong. Since my first visit to the dis- 
trict in November, 1783, I can venture to say that 
more than fifteen hundred persons have been killed 
and taken prisoners by the Indians; and upwards 
of twenty thousand horses have been taken away, with 
other property consisting of money, merchandize, 
household goods, wearing apparel, etc., of great value. 
The government has been repeatedly informed of those 
injuries, and that they continued to be perpetrated 
daily, notwithstanding which the people have re- 
ceived no satisfactory information whether the gov- 
ernment intended to afford them relief or not. . . . 
I will, sir, be candid on this subject, not only as an in- 
habitant of Kentucky but as a friend to society who 
wishes to see order and regularity preserved in the 
government under which he lives. The people say 
they have groaned under their misfortunes — they see 
no prospect of relief — they constitute the strength 
and wealth of the western country, and yet all meas- 
ures heretofore attempted have been committed for 
execution to the hands of strangers who have no in- 
terest in common with the west. They are the great 
sufferers and yet they have no voice in the matters 
which so vitally affect them. They are even accused 
of being the aggressors, and have no representative 
to state or to justify their conduct. These are the 
general sentiments of the western people who are be- 
ginning to want faith in the government, and ap- 
pear determined to avenge themselves. For this 
purpose a meeting was lately held in this place by 
a number of respectable characters, to determine on 
the propriety of carrying on their expeditions this 
fall." 



54 The Ohio Country 

Kentucky was organized as a Territory this 
year (1790). 

Early in June, 1790, when yet at Kaskaskia, 
Governor St. Clair received from Major Ham- 
tramck a report of the failure of his and Gamelin's 
mission to the hostile Savages, and of the hope- 
lessness of being able to make treaties for peace. 
Committing the resolutions of Congress relative 
to lands and settlers along the Wabash River to 
Winthrop Sargent, Secretary, who then proceeded 
to organize the county of Knox, St. Clair returned 
by way of the rivers to Fort Washington, where 
he arrived July nth. Here General Harmar re- 
ported to him many raids and murders by the 
Savages, and 

" it was agreed and determined that General Harmar 
should conduct an expedition against the Maumee 
River towns, the residence of all the renegade In- 
dians, from whence issued all the parties who infest 
our frontiers. The Governor remained with us but 
three days. One thousand militia were ordered from 
Kentucky and the Governor on his way to New York 
the seat of the General Government, was to order five 
hundred from the back counties of Pennsylvania. 
The 1 5th September was the time appointed for the 
militia to assemble at Fort Washington." 

^ Active preparations were instituted by General 
Harmar for this campaign, the object of which was, 



From 1 790- 1 794 55 

not only the present chastisement of the Savages, 
but the building of one or more forts along the 
Maumee River, and the establishing of a connect- 
ing line of refuge posts for supplies from which 
posts sorties could be made to intercept hostiles. 
Governor St. Clair sent on September 19th 
from Marietta, "by a private gentleman," a letter 
to Major Patrick Murray, the British commandant 
at Detroit, reading in part as follows: 

"This is to give you the fullest assurance of the pa- 
cific disposition entertained towards Great Britain 
and all her possessions [sic] ; and to inform you expli- 
citly that the expedition about to be undertaken is not 
intended against the post you have the honor to com- 
mand. , . . After this candid explanation, sir, there 
is every reason to expect, both from your own personal 
character, and from the regard you have for that of 
our nation [sic], that those tribes will meet with neither 
countenance nor assistance from any under your com- 
mand, and that you will do what in your power lies 
to restrain the trading people from whose instigations 
there is too good reasons to believe much of the in- 
juries committed by the savages has proceeded." 

The army gathered for the expedition marched 
northward from Fort Washington October 4, 1790, 
under command of General Josiah Harmar, Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the armies of the United 
States. It was composed of fourteen hundred 
and fifty-three soldiers, viz. : three hundred and 



56 The Ohio Country 

twenty regulars, including one artillery company 
with three light brass cannon, the largest a six 
pounder, in two battalions; eleven hundred and 
thirty-three militia from Kentucky in four bat- 
talions, three of infantry and one of mounted rifle- 
men; and one battalion from Pennsylvania. 
Most of these men were wholly unused to organ- 
ized warfare, were poorly equipped, and were 
commanded by officers inclined to be rather 
discordant. 

Colonel Hardin arrived with his command at 
the Miami village, at the head of the Maumee 
River, the site of the present city of Fort Wayne, 
Indiana, on October i6th, and took possession 
without opposition, the Savages having fled into 
the woods, upon being notified by their scouts of 
the approach of the army. The women and chil- 
dren went to their former retreats, and the war- 
riors watched from their well chosen places for 
ambush attack. Upon the arrival of his part of 
the expedition. General Harmar determined to 
discover the place of the enemy's retreat, and to 
bring them to battle. The army was divided into 
detachments. The one following the main trail of 
the enemy became divided inadvertently, and met 
with a severe attack from ambush which entailed 
great loss. The reports of the militiamen returning 



From 1 790-1 794 57 

promiscuously called forth a caustic order from 
General Harmar, reading in part as follows: 

"The cause of the detachment being worsted yes- 
terday was entirely owing to the shameful cowardly 
conduct of the militia who ran away and threw down 
their arms without firing scarcely a gun. In return- 
ing to Fort Washington if any officer or man shall 
presume to quit the ranks, or not to march in the form 
that they are ordered, the General will assuredly order 
the artillery to fire on them." 

The remaining part of the army started on its 
return to Fort Washington, after destroying all 
the buildings and food supplies that could well be 
found. At the first encampment, seven miles from 
the destroyed Miami villages. Colonel Hardin, 
desiring to retrieve his lost prestige by dealing 
the Savages a heavy blow, to prevent, at least, 
their following and harassing the returning army, 
prevailed upon General Harmar to give him a de- 
tachment of four hundred men with which to go 
back in the night to the site of the towns and at- 
tack the Savages that, doubtless, had returned 
there. This request was granted. 

Three hundred and forty militiamen under 
Colonel Hardin, and sixty regular troops under 
Major Wyllys, started in time to arrive at the river 
about break of day, October 2 2d. They were late 



58 The Ohio Country 

in arriving. The enemy had returned as expected. 
The plan of attack was carefully outlined; but 
some failure to obey orders, and unexpected am- 
buscades by the Savages, which divided the com- 
mand, resulted again in a most disastrous defeat 
for the Americans. As in the first defeat, the 
regulars lost most of their men, including Major 
Wyllys. The loss among the Savages was thought 
to be about as large as that of the Americans. 

General Harmar could not be prevailed upon 
by Colonel Hardin to return to the river with all 
his remaining army. His reply was: 

"We are now scarcely able to move our baggage; 
it would take up three days to go, and return to this 
place; we have on more forage for our horses; the 
Indians have got a very good scourging ; and I will keep 
the army in perfect readiness to receive them if they 
think best to follow." 

The American loss in this expedition was one 
hundred and eighty-three killed, and thirty-one 
wounded. General Harmar, annoyed by adverse 
criticism of his conduct of the expedition, asked 
President Washington, March 28, 1791, for a 
board of officers to act as a Court of Inquiry. This 
request was granted and, after considering the 
evidence, he was acquitted of any fault. 

Nothing was said about his failure to build the 



From 1 790-1 794 59 

forts that had been thought desirable. Some of 
the officials, however, had urged objections to the 
suggested forts in the wilderness, such as the cost 
of their maintenance with garrisons and supplies, 
and their rather limited efficiency. But General 
Harmar's command was prepared for such work, 
and was not prepared for aggressive warfare, as 
the sequel proved. Had he built a strong fort at 
the head of the Maumee River immediately upon 
his arrival there, and had he garnered, instead of 
burning, the products of the fields, and, upon his 
return, left a chain of such forts, these would have 
been rallying points where the soldiers might have 
kept the Savages away from the British influences 
while teaching them to favor those who were the 
rightful owners of their hunting grounds, right- 
fully so by repeated conquest and by treaty pur- 
chases from different tribes. These forts would 
also have been rallying points for the commis- 
sioners of peace to these Savages, as well as for 
those Savages who would gradually, one by one, 
and tribe by tribe, have been won over to lead 
peaceful lives. The moral and physical effects 
of such forts were later demonstrated, when the 
authorities in the East came to the realization 
that they were a necessity. 

General Harmar resigned his commission the 



6o The Ohio Country 

following January, and was made Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of Pennsylvania in 1793, in which position 
he rendered good service in furnishing troops for 
General Wayne's army in 1794. 

The Savages were greatly elated at their suc- 
cesses in defeating General Harmar's army. Like 
the ancient Romans who returned home to cele- 
brate their great victories in triumphal processions, 
these Savages went to Detroit, the headquarters 
of their masters and allies, the British, where 
they daily paraded the streets uttering their de- 
moniac scalp yells, while bearing long poles strung 
with the scalps of the many American soldiers they 
had killed. Additional war parties of Savages were 
soon started for the American frontier settlements. 

The British, also, were elated at the successes 
of the Savages, exhibiting their pleasure by words 
condemnatory of the American policy, and by in- 
citing the Savages to further atrocities. 

The anxiety, always present with the frontier 
settlers, now increased to a panic. The officers, 
local and general, whose duty it was to guard and 
protect legitimate settlers, had often been remiss 
in their duties; they were, probably, often with- 
out the necessary power. While their physical 
resources were deficient, they had been wanting, 
too, perhaps, in a broad comprehension of the 



From 1 790-1 794 6i 

requirements, and had been dilatory in obtaining 
the means that would have begotten from the 
first more unity of effort and strength of resistance 
to the treacherous Savages, while they were for- 
mulating broader and more definite plans for over- 
coming their savagery by stopping the British aid 
and abetment of it. Now the American authori- 
ties became even more disconcerted than before, 
and their efforts to protect the settlements with 
soldiers grew even more spasmodic. The sending 
of agents to placate the Savages at this inoppor- 
ttme time, when another army sufficient in size 
to overcome them was being recruited for the 
building of forts throughout the forests, — ^those 
forests which the Savages had been taught by the 
French and British never to give up to the Amer- 
icans, and in their determination to retain which 
they were yet being sustained by the British, — 
was again being pointed out by the British and 
Savages as an evidence of American insincerity 
and duplicity. Such was the result of the long- 
continued pacific policy of the American officials, 
if any policy could be said to have existed, 
toward the intriguing British first, and the Savages 
afterwards! Their efforts had only occasionally 
been awakened, with mere temporizing effect on the 
enemies, to react severely upon the settlements ! 



CHAPTER VI 

OVERWHELMING SUCCESS OF THE ENEMY 

More Troops Gathered for Defence — Messenger Sent to the 
Senecas for Peace Agents — British Opposition — Expedi- 
tion against Hostile Savages Successful — Army Gathered 
for Decisive Blow to the Marauding Savages — Com- 
manded by General, and Governor, St. Clair, it Meets 
Overwhelming Defeat — Women with the Army. 

npHE Legislature of Virginia, December 20, 
'^ 1790, authorized Governor Beverly Ran- 
dolph to provide for the enlistment of several 
companies of rangers before the ist of March 
for the protection of the frontier; and Charles 
Scott was appointed Brigadier-General of Ken- 
tucky militia. 

Early in January, 1791, that more attention and 
deference should be given to the West, Congress 
appointed General Scott, Henry Inness, John 
Brown, Benjamin Logan, and Isaac Shelby a 
Board of War for the District of Kentucky, with 
discretionary powers. 

62 



From 1 790-1 792 63 

The 3d of March Congress also made provision 
for another regiment of Federal troops, and for 
raising two thousand militia for six months' ser- 
vice, as a further protection of the frontier; and 
President Washington immediately appointed 
Governor, and General, Arthur St. Clair Comman- 
der-in-Chief of this Army of the Northwest. 

Colonel Thomas Proctor was sent March 12, 
1 79 1, to the Seneca tribe of the Six Nations of New 
York to enlist from them peace agents to the 
western tribes; but the British at Niagara would 
not permit a boat to take these agents across Lake 
Erie in the interest of the United States. Also, 
by the endeavors of the British, and Colonel 
Brant, false reports were circulated, that the 
United States was endeavoring to involve the 
Six Nations in war with the western tribes. 

Further evidence of this continued British policy 
to dominate all of the American Aborigines was 
given in the communications of the British officers 
to them, and in the Aborigines deferring to their 
request that all questions of moment should be 
referred to the British. 

Radical military operations against the Savages' 
retreats appearing necessary, and the result of 
Colonel Proctor's mission for the intercession of 
the Six Nations for peace having been awaited as 



64 The Ohio Country 

long as practicable, General Scott, with eight hun- 
dred cavalry, crossed the Ohio River on May 23, 
1 79 1, at the mouth of the Kentucky River, and 
started for the historic Ouiotenon, situated by 
the Wabash River near the present city of Lafay- 
ette, Indiana. Rain fell in torrents with much high 
wind, but the troops arrived at their destination 
the ist of June after an estimated march of one 
hundred and sixty miles through the forest with 
only varying trails for road. The last of the 
Savages were just leaving the proximal town 
when General, now acting Lieutenant-Colonel, 
James Wilkinson pressed forward with the First 
Battalion and "destroyed all the Savages with 
which five canoes were crowded." 

There was a Kickapoo town on the north bank 
of the river from which a brisk firing was directed 
at the troops. The river was at flood and soldiers 
were sent above and below to effect a crossing, 
which was done by swimming, and the Savages 
were dislodged. Meantime Colonel Hardin's com- 
mand had discovered a stronger village on the left 
which they surprised, killing six Savages and tak- 
ing fifty-two prisoners. The next evening Colonel 
Wilkinson started with three hundred and sixty 
men on foot, and early the next morning they as- 
sailed and destroyed the important town of Keth- 



From 1 790-1 792 65 

tipecanunk at the mouth of Eel River eighteen 
miles above Ouiotenon, returning from this thirty- 
six miles' walk and work in twelve hours. All the 
villages and supplies that could be found were 
destroyed. General Scott reported that: 

" Many of the inhabitants of this village [Ouiotenon] 
were French and lived in a state of civilization. By 
the books, letters, and other documents found here 
it is evident that the place was in close connection 
with and dependent on Detroit. A large quantity of 
corn, a variety of household goods, peltry, and other 
articles were burned with this village which consisted 
of about seventy houses, many of them well finished."^ 

On June 4th, General Scott set free sixteen of 
his prisoners who were in poor condition to with- 
stand the march, giving to their care a well- 
worded letter, addressed to all the tribes along the 
Wabash, requesting peace, and informing where 
his retained prisoners could be found. 

The severe rains and the swollen condition of the 
streams, with his forced marches through the al- 
most trackless forest, had disabled his horses and, 
his supplies being depleted, he reluctantly directed 
the march southward instead of toward the Mau- 
mee River, and arrived at the Rapids of the Ohio 

« See American State Papers, Indian Affairs, volume i, 
page 129. 
S 



66 The Ohio Country 

June 14th. He reported no death in his command 
and only five wounded, while of Savages thirty- 
two were killed and fifty-eight taken prisoners, of 
which the forty- two not liberated were given to 
the care of Captain Asheton of the First United 
States Regiment at Fort Steuben. No French- 
men were captured, if seen, and no scalps were 
taken. 

General St. Clair recommended another expe- 
dition to the Eel River to weaken those tribes 
which would ally themselves with the Miamis 
against his army then forming for the purpose of 
laying waste the strongholds, and establishing 
a series of forts in the Maumee country. Accord- 
ingly Colonel Wilkinson, with five hundred and 
twenty-five cavalry, started from the vicinity of 
Fort Washington to the northward, "feinting 
boldly at the Miami Villages, " and then turned 
northwestward to the Wabash near the mouth of 
Eel River. The evening of the sixth day he cap- 
tured the Savages' most important town in this 
vicinity, known by the French name L'Anguille — 
the Eel. This expedition then ranged along the Wa- 
bash River, passed through the site of Ouiotenon, 
thence along General Scott's route, and arrived at 
the Rapids of the Ohio August 21st, having trav- 
elled four hundred and fifty miles, destroyed sev- 



From 1 790-1 792 67 

eral villages and more than four hundred acres of 
com; captured thirty-four or more Savage pris- 
oners and killed ten or more others. One Amer- 
ican prisoner was recovered. Two soldiers were 
killed and one wounded. Colonel Wilkinson also 
left behind some infirm Aborigines, unharmed, to 
whom he gave a letter, addressed to the different 
tribes, urging them to accept the favorable terms 
of peace still offered to them. This, as well as the 
former letter, was taken to the British, who gave 
their own desired rendering of it to the Aborigines ; 
and the warriors were incited to greater efforts in 
their savage work. 

General Harmar predicted defeat for General 
St. Clair's army which, with great difficulties, was 
being gathered to operate along the Maumee River. 
This army was not ready to advance until Sep- 
tember 17, 1 79 1. Then, about twenty-three hun- 
dred soldiers, including regulars, moved from the 
vicinity of Fort Washington and built Fort Ham- 
ilton on the west bank of the Miami River at the 
site of the present city of Hamilton, Ohio. Again 
advancing under command of General St. Clair, 
they began to build Fort Jefferson, six miles south 
of the present city of Greenville, October 12th. 
Twelve days later the march again began, but the 
progress was very slow. 



68 The Ohio Country 

The evening of the 3d of November the army- 
encamped, by the Wabash River about one mile 
and a half east of the present Ohio-Indiana 
State line. During the night there were many 
Savages near the pickets, and much firing of the 
pickets' guns. About ten o'clock that night Gen- 
eral Butler, who commanded the right wing, was 
requested to send out an intelligent officer with a 
detachment of soldiers to reconnoitre. He detailed 
Captain Slough, two subalterns, and thirty men of 
the line for this purpose, but nothing alarming 
was discovered. 

Early the next morning, the army, then num- 
bering about fourteen hundred regular and militia 
soldiers, and eighty-six officers, was furiously as- 
sailed by about the same number of Savages, and 
it went down to the most disastrous defeat ever 
suffered by such large numbers from such foe. 
General St. Clair's Adjutant, Ebenezer Denny, 
thus describes the scenes: 

"The troops paraded this morning, 4 November, 
1 79 1, at the usual time, and had been dismissed from 
the lines but a few minutes, the sun not yet up, when 
the woods in front rung with the yells and [gun] fire of 
the savages. The poor militia, who were but three 
hundred yards in front, had scarcely time to return 
a shot — they fled into our camp. The troops were 
under arms in an instant, and a smart fire from the 



From 1 790-1 792 69 

front line met the enemy. It was but a few minutes, 
however, until the men were engaged in every quarter. 
The enemy from the front filed off to the right and 
left, and completely surrounded the camp, killed and 
cut off nearly all the guards, and approached close 
to the lines. They advanced from one tree, log, or 
stump to another, under cover of the smoke of our 
fire. Our artillery and musketry made a tremendous 
noise huddled together as they were but did little 
execution. The Aborigines seemed to brave every- 
thing, and when fairly fixed around us they made no 
noise other than their fire [guns] which they kept up 
very constant and which seldom failed to tell, al- 
though scarcely heard. 

"Our left flank, probably from the nature of the 
ground, gave way first; the enemy got possession of 
that part of the encampment but, it being pretty 
clear ground, they were too much exposed and were 
soon repulsed. I was at this time with the General 
[St. Clair] engaged toward the right; he was on foot 
and led the party himself that drove the enemy and 
regained our ground on the left. The battalions in 
the rear charged several times and forced the Savages 
from their shelter, but they always turned with the 
battalions and fired upon their backs; indeed they 
seemed not to fear anything we could do. They could 
skip out of reach of the bayonet and return, as they 
pleased. They were visible only when raised by a 
charge. 

" The ground was literally covered with the dead. 
The wounded were taken to the centre, where it was 
thought most safe, and where a great many who had 
quit their posts unhurt had crowded together. The 
General, with other officers, endeavored to rally these 



70 The Ohio Country 

men, and twice they were taken out to the lines. 
It appeared that the officers had been singled out; a 
very great proportion fell, or were wounded and were 
obliged to retire from the lines early in the action. 
General Butler was among the latter, as well as sev- 
eral other of the most experienced officers. The men, 
being thus left with few officers, became fearful, 
despaired of success, gave up the fight, and to save 
themselves for the moment, abandoned entirely their 
duty and ground, and crowded in toward the centre of 
the field, and no exertions could put them in any order 
even for defence ; they became perfectly ungovernable. 
The enemy at length got possession of the artillery, 
though not until the officers were all killed but one 
and he badly wounded, and the men [gunners] almost 
all cut ofiF, and not until the pieces were spiked. 

" As our lines were deserted the Aborigines contracted 
theirs until their shot centred from all points, and 
now meeting with little opposition, took more delib- 
erate aim and did great execution. Exposed to a cross 
fire, men and officers were seen falling in every direc- 
tion; the distress, too, of the wounded made the scene 
such as can scarcely be conceived — a few minutes 
longer, and a retreat would have been impossible — 
the only hope left was, that perhaps the Savages 
would be so taken up with the camp as not to follow. 
Delay was death; no preparation could be made; 
numbers of brave men must be left a sacrifice, there 
was no alternative. It was past nine o'clock when 
repeated orders were given to charge toward the road. 
The action had continued between two and three 
hours. Both officers and men seemed confounded, 
incapable of doing anything; they could not move 
until it was told that a retreat was intended. A few 



From 1 790-1 792 71 

officers put themselves in, front, the men followed, 
the enemy gave way, and perhaps not being aware 
of the design, we were for a few minutes left undis- 
turbed. The stoutest and most active now took the 
lead, and those who were foremost in breaking the 
enemy's line were soon left behind. 

" At the moment of the retreat one of the few horses 
saved had been procured for the General ; he was on 
foot until then; I kept by him, and he delayed to 
see the rear. The enemy soon discovered the move- 
ment and pursued, though not more than four or 
five miles, and but few so far; they turned to share 
the spoil. Soon after the firing ceased I was directed 
to endeavor to gain the front and, if possible, to cause 
a short halt that the rear might get up. I had been 
on horseback from the first alarm, and well mounted ; 
and now pushed forward, but met with so many diffi- 
culties and interruptions from the people that I was 
two hours at least laboring to reach the front. With 
the assistance of two or three officers I caused a short 
halt; but the men grew impatient and would move 
on. I got Lieutenants Sedam and Morgan, with half 
a dozen stout men, to fill up the road and to move 
slowly; I halted myself until the General came up. 
By this time the remains of the army had got some- 
what compact, but in the most miserable and defence- 
less state. The wounded who came off left their arms 
in the field, and one half of the others threw theirs away 
on the retreat. The road for miles was covered with 
firelocks [flintlock guns], cartridge boxes, and regi- 
mentals. How fortunate that the pursuit was dis- 
continued; a single Savage might have followed 
with safety upon either flank. Such a panic had 
seized the men that I believe it would not have 



72 The Ohio Country 

been possible to have brought any of them to en- 
gage again. 

"In the afternoon Lieutenant Kersey with a detach- 
ment of the First Regiment met us. This regiment, 
the only complete and best disciplined portion of the 
army, had been ordered back upon the road on 
the 31st October. They were thirty miles from the 
battle ground when they heard distinctly the firing 
of the cannon, were hastening forward, and had 
marched about nine miles when met by some of the 
militia who informed Major Hamtramck, the com- 
manding officer, that the army was totally destroyed. 
''The Major judged it best to send on a subaltern to 
" ^ obtain some knowledge of things, and to return him- 
-. self with the regiment to Fort Jefferson eight miles 
back, and to secure at all events that post. He had 
made some arrangements, and as we arrived in the 
y evening, found him preparing again to meet us. Strag- 
glers continued to come in for hours after we reached 
the fort. 

" The remnant of the army, with the First Regiment, 
were now at Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles from 
the field of action, without provisions, and the former 
without having eaten anything for twenty-four hours. 
A convoy was knov/n to be upon the road, and within 
a day's march. The General determined to move with 
the First Regiment and all the levies [militia] able to 
march. Those of the wounded and others unable to 
go on were lodged as comfortably as possible within 
the fort. Accordingly we set out a little after ten 
and continued our route until within an hour of day- 
light, then halted and waited for day and until the 
rear came up. Moved on again about nine o'clock: 
the morning of the 5th we met the convoy; stopped 



^\ 



From 1 790-1 792 73 

a sufficiency to subsist us to Fort Hamilton; sent the 
remainder on to Jefferson under an additional escort 
of a captain and sixty men; proceeded, and at first 
water halted, partly cooked and eat for the first time 
since the night preceding the action. At one o'clock 
moved on, and continued our route until nine at 
night whefi we halted and made fires within fifteen 
miles of Fort Hamilton. Marched again just before 
day, the General soon after rode on to the fort. Troops 
reached there in the afternoon. 

"November 7, 1791. Fort Hamilton command was 
ordered off with a small supply for the wounded, etc. 
About twelve same day continued our march, and 
halted before night within fifteen miles of Fort Wash- 
ington, which place we reached the afternoon of the 
eighth. 

" The prediction of defeat by General Harmar before 
the army set out on the campaign was founded upon 
his experience and particular knowledge of things. 
He saw with what material the army was composed; 
men collected from the streets and prisons of the cities, 
hurried out into the enemy's country, and with the 
officers commanding them totally unacquainted with 
the business in which they were engaged, it was utterly 
impossible they could be otherwise than defeated. 
Besides, not any one department was sufficiently pre- 
pared; both quartermaster and the contractors ex- 
tremely deficient. It was a matter of astonishment to 
him [General Harmar] that the commanding general 
[St. Clair], who was acknowledged to be perfectly 
competent, should think of hazarding with such peo- 
ple and under such circumstances, his reputation and 
life, and the lives of so many others, knowing too, as 
both did, the enemy with whom he was going to con- 



74 The Ohio Country 

tend ; an enemy brought up from infancy to war, and 
perhaps superior to an equal number of the best men 
that could be taken against them. It is a truth, I 
had hopes that the noise and show which the army 
made on their march might deter the enemy from 
attempting a serious and general attack. It was un- 
fortunate that both the general officers were, and had 
been, disabled by sickness; in such situation it is pos- 
sible that some essential matters might be overlooked. 
The Adjutant-General, Colonel Winthrop Sargent, 
an old Revolutionary officer, was, however, constantly 
on the alert ; he took upon himself the burden of every- 
thing, and a very serious and troublesome task he 
had. But one most important object was wanting, 
can't say neglected, but more might have been done 
toward obtaining it ; this was a knowledge of the col- 
lected force and situation of the enemy; of this we 
were perfectly ignorant. Some few scouts out, but 
no great distance. ..." 

In this overwhelming defeat General St. Clair's 
army lost five hundred and ninety-three privates 
killed and missing. Thirty-nine officers were 
killed, including Major-General Richard Butler, 
one lieutenant-colonel, three majors, twelve cap- 
tains, ten lieutenants, eight ensigns, two quarter- 
masters, one adjutant, and Surgeon Grasson. 
Thirty-one officers and two hundred and fifty-two 
privates were wounded. The artillery and all 
supplies, including clothing, two hundred tents, 
three hundred horses, one hundred and thirty 



From 1 790-1 792 75 

beef cattle, and food in the wagons, with muskets 
and other equipment thrown away by many 
stricken soldiers, all valued at $32,810.75, were 
left to be gathered by the highly elated Savages, 
who took to their lodges by the Maumee, Auglaize, 
and other rivers all they could transport. 

On account of necessary delays, the cold weather, 
and bad roads, it required six weeks for St. Clair's 
aide, Lieutenant Denny, to convey on horseback 
the news of this crushing defeat to the office of the 
Secretary of War, General Knox, in Philadelphia. 

President Washington was greatly distressed by 
the news. General St. Clair requested the appoint- 
ment of a Court of Inquiry regarding the defeat. 
This was done by the War Department, and the 
Court exonerated him. He resigned his com- 
mission March 5, 1792. He was, however, further 
retained as Governor of the Territory, which 
many prominent men in the Territory thought 
another great mistake. 

The principal causes of the failure of the expe- 
dition, as recorded in the Secretary of War's office, 
are: *'ist. The deficient number of good troops, 
according to the expectation in the early part of 
the year. 2d. Their want of sufficient discipline, 
according to the nature of the service. 3rd. The 
lateness of the season." 



76 The Ohio Country 

The wet and cold weather, with thin ice and 
snow, certainly added much to the inefficiency of 
the volunteers who were unused to such cam- 
paigning, and added greatly to their sufferings in 
defeat. Certainly the illness of General St. Clair 
should not be urged as an excuse for the laxity in 
fortifying and reconnoitering by his subordinates. 

There were other unwise features of this expe- 
dition associated with undisciplined soldiers and 
incompetent officers. The wives and women of 
many soldiers were with the army. They were 
favored as much as practicable, but many of 
them were killed by the Savages.^ 

General Wilkinson visited this field of slaughter 
about the last of January, 1792, with one hundred 
and fifty-two volunteer cavalrymen, some of 
whom were frost-bitten on the way from Fort 
Jefferson. From the distance of about four miles 
from the site of the encampment they found scat- 
tered along the way the remains of Americans who 
had been pursued and killed, or who had died of 
their wounds while endeavoring to escape. The 
field of action was thickly strewn with remnants 

> Caleb Atwater writes in his History of the State of Ohio, 
1838, that there were with this army at the commencement of 
the attack of the Savages about two hundred and fifty women, 
of whom fifty-six were killed. But few escaped death or 
captivity. 



From 1 790- 1 792 77 

of human bodies showing horrible mutilations by 
the Savages. Sand and clay were found packed 
into the eyes and throats, done probably while 
the wounded were alive; limbs were found sepa- 
rated from bodies; and stakes the size of arms 
were foimd driven through the bodies of women. 
The flesh had been stripped from many bones, but 
the relative part done by the savage cannibals 
and the wolves could not be determined. The 
latter were yet at work. 

As many of these remains as possible on account 
of the snow and cold weather were gathered and 
buried in shallow trenches dug with difficulty in 
the frozen ground by the benumbed soldiers. 
Three whole cannon carriages were found and re- 
moved to Fort Jefferson; the other five were in 
damaged condition. All the cannon were missing. ^ 

> General Wayne's army gathered and buried all bones 
that could be found on and around this field Christmas week, 
1 793, previous to the building of Fort Recovery. Six hundred 
skulls were cotmted. — American Pioneer, 1842, volume i, 
page 294. 



CHAPTER VII 

FURTHER NEFARIOUS WORK CULMINATING 

Great Efforts of British Allies — Distress of Frontier Settle- 
ments — British Fear Loss of Fur Trade — Advance of 
Civil Jurisdiction — General Wayne Chosen to Lead 
Another Army against the Hostiles — Further Treaties 
with the Aborigines — Secret Efforts to Learn Status of 
the British— Largest Council of Savages for British Con- 
federation — Kentucky Admitted as a State — Forts 
Built by Americans — Commissioners Appointed to At- 
tend the Great Council — Their Object Defeated by the 
British — Specific Charges of Fraud and Force by British 
Presented to the British Minister. 

THE British and their savage allies did not want 
the peace that the Americans would have ac- 
cepted previous to the defeat of General Harmar's 
army ; much less would they comply with the pro- 
clamation of Governor St. Clair, or respond favor- 
ably to various other peace overtures made to them 
after this disaster. They rallied all the available 
warriors of the different tribes nearby — the Mia- 
mis under Chief Little Turtle, the Delawares under 

78 



From 1 792- 1 793 79 

Buckongehelas, the Shawnees under Blue Jacket, 
the Ottawas, Wyandots, Pottawotamis, Kicka- 
poos, and bands of lesser significance — against the 
coming of General St. Clair ; and the easy destruc- 
tion of this, the second large army, commanded 
by the Governor — to them, the great American 
chieftain, — was to them the cause of extreme joy. 
This, their second great success, with the largely 
increased number of scalps and other rich spoils 
gathered from their victims, was looked upon as 
full license for a continuance of their raids on the 
settlements, and as an omen of their ultimate 
success, on the plan of Pontiac in 1763, in driving 
the Americans from the western country. 

The American frontier settlements, with, if 
possible, increased apprehension, sent more urgent 
petitions to the authorities for protection. Some 
of these petitions represented that not less than 
fifteen hundred Kentuckians — men, women, and 
children — had been slain or carried into captivity 
by the Savages within seven years; that the fron- 
tier settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia had 
suffered nearly as much; and that the prospect 
was now more gloomy than before, as the enemy 
was, if possible, more aggressive and savage. 

On the other hand, the allies of the Savages, 
the British, were becoming more apprehensive 



8o The Ohio Country 

regarding their fur trade on account of the deple- 
tion oftheiralHes, the Savages, by American armies. 
The defeat of two armies was sure to be followed 
by another army, stronger and more destructive. 
The Montreal merchants whose lucrative trade 
with the American Savages had lessened during 
the more active hostilities, on December 9, 1791, 
petitioned Colonel John Graves Simcoe, Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Upper Canada, for protection; 
and suggested closer union with the Savages, and 
a continued retention of the American forts yet 
occupied by the British, 

Secretary of War Henry Knox, "in obedience 
to the command " of President Washington, made, 
on the 26th of December, an interesting state- 
ment relative to the frontiers northwest of the 
Ohio River, which includes the following para- 
graph, viz: 

"Hence it would appear that the principles of jus- 
tice as well as policy and, it may be added, the prin- 
ciples of economy, all combine to dictate that an 
adequate military force should be raised as soon as 
possible, placed upon the frontiers, and disciplined ac- 
cording to the nature of the service, in order to meet 
with the prospect of success against the greatest 
probable combination of the enemy." 

Messages and overtures for peace were again 



From 1 792-1 793 81 

sent to the various tribes of Aborigines, includ- 
ing the Six Nations; and preparations for the 
proposed army were also entered upon. 

To advance the civil jurisdiction as much as 
possible, Hamilton County was, February 11, 
1792, extended by Governor St. Clair, who yet 
retained his civil office, eastward to the Scioto 
River, and northward to the territorial limits in 
Lake Erie. 

President Washington having been greatly dis- 
appointed in the result of the expedition of General 
St. Clair, who was a former member of his military 
staff, made the selection of the commander for the 
proposed campaign with great circumspection. 
Generals Anthony Wayne, Henry Lee, Daniel 
Morgan, Andrew Pickens, Rufus Putnam, Charles 
Scott, James Wilkinson, and Alexander IMcGilli- 
vray were those of most prominence from whom 
to choose ; and Anthony Wayne was selected early 
in 1792. The result showed the wisdom of the 
choice, notwithstanding the statement of General 
Lee that this appointment "caused extreme dis- 
gust among all orders in the Old Dominion." 

Soon after this appointment, General Wayne 
issued a proclamation to acquaint the anxious 
frontiersmen with the efforts in progress to secure 
peace by treaty, and to request all persons to 



82 The Ohio Country 

avoid all action that would further anger the Abo- 
rigines. The governors of Virginia and Pennsyl- 
vania issued similar proclamations. 

Major John F. Hamtramck effected, at Vin- 
cennes in March, 1792, treaties with small bands 
of the Wabash and Eel River tribes, and he also 
sent peace messages to those of the Maumee River. 
About fifty chiefs of the Six Nations visited Phil- 
adelphia by invitation, and accepted the over- 
tures for peace. 

On April 7th, General Wilkinson sent two mes- 
sengers. Freeman and Girard, with peace messages 
to the Miamis of the Maumee River; and, on the 
20th of May, Colonel John Hardin and Major 
Alexander Truman started northward on like mis- 
sions — ^but not one of the four returned to tell of 
the savage treatment, and death, they suffered. 

General Putnam on the 2 7th of September suc- 
ceeded in closing terms of peace with thirty-one 
Aborigines of the Wabash and Illinois tribes at 
Vincennes. Each of the parties to these peace ne- 
gotiations carried copies of the treaties of 1784, '85, 
'86, '89, and many expressions and assurances by 
the Americans to turn the Savages from their work 
of carnage. But all availed nothing with the 
strong tribes who claimed to be directly under 
influence and command of the British, and the 



From 1 792-1 793 83 

murderous raids by the Savages continued 
unabated. 

Of the secret efforts to learn more of detail re- 
garding the relations between the Savages and 
the British, to be the better able therefrom to 
appease the former, but one succeeded, on account 
of the great vigilance of both parties to the alli- 
ance. William May was started from Fort Ham- 
ilton May 13, 1792, to follow on the trail of Major 
Truman. He was captured by Savages, as ex- 
pected, and after escaping many dangers was 
taken along the Maumee River, and sold to Mat- 
thew Elliott, then British Assistant Agent to the 
Aborigines, from whose service he finally escaped 
and gave sworn testimony before General Wayne 
at Pittsburg, October 11, 1792. This evidence 
detailed different items of interest, among which 
are the following: 

There were gathered in the summer of 1792 by 
the Maumee River at the mouth of the Auglaize, 
then the headquarters of several tribes, three thou- 
sand and six hundred warriors of many tribes, 
and more were arriving at the time of May's so- 
journ there, all of whom received daily rations 
from the British authorities at Detroit. 

This was the largest council of Aborigines on 
record, and it appeared to the British as the 



84 The Ohio Country 

culmination of their hopes, and long -continued 
endeavors, for the confederation of all the Ameri- 
can tribes regardless of American interests. 

The Seneca Chief Complanter and forty-eight 
other chiefs of the Six Nations of New York were, 
in the interests of peace, representing the Ameri- 
cans at this council; and Chief Complanter re- 
ported to General Wayne that : ..." we cannot 
tell the names of the nations present. There were 
present three men from the Gora^ nations; it took 
them a whole season to come; and twenty-seven 
nations [tribes] from beyond Canada. The whole 
of them know that we, the Six Nations, have Gen- 
eral Washington by the hand." This reference 
to General Washington was relative to their recent 
visit to Philadelphia, and the peace treaty there 
effected. Other tribes were expected at this grand 
council at the mouth of the Auglaize River, and 
they came later, from the extreme South and West. 
A like council was called for the next year, and, 
later, runners were sent with invitations to the 
most distant tribes in all directions, including the 

I Gora, or Gorah, was one of the names formerly given by 
the Six Nations (Iroquois) of New York to Sir WiUiam John- 
son and to Colonel Guy Johnson ; and these Gora Aborigines 
were probably of the Iroquois of Canada who were at this 
time under the control of Sir John Johnson, British Superin- 
tendent of Indian Affairs. 



From 1 792- 1 793 85 

Creeks and Cherokees of the South, urging their 
attendance. 

William May, as he had been a sailor, was kept 
by his purchaser three months in the transporta- 
tion service, on board a schooner carrying a load 
of about one hundred and sixty barrels between 
Detroit and the foot of the Maumee Rapids, many 
miles within United States territory, where was 
situated the great supply house of the British 
Aborigine Agent Alexander McKee, from whom 
the Savages received their food, supplies of fire- 
arms, ammunition, scalping knives, tomahawks, 
etc., with which to raid and murder Americans 
wherever possible. 

Kentucky was admitted into the Union as a 
State June i, 1792, thus giving her the represen- 
tation she richly deserved. 

A number of small forts were built by the Ameri- 
cans along the frontier as bases for supplies and 
places of refuge for the remaining settlers. 

In addition to the attacks on individuals and 
families along the borders, a company of mounted 
Kentucky riflemen under Major John Adair, on 
November 6, 1792, near Post St. Clair, about 
twenty-five miles north of Fort Hamilton, Ohio, 
was suddenly attacked by a party of Savages 
who exhibited "a degree of courage that bespoke 



86 The Ohio Country 

them warriors indeed" reads the report of the 
Major. Six Americans were killed, five wounded, 
and four missing. The Savages also killed a num- 
ber of pack-horses and captured others. Their 
loss was thought to be about the same as that of 
the Kentuckians. 

At this time, the army being formed by General 
Wayne was encamped twenty-two miles below 
Pittsburg, both to protect the Virginia frontier, 
and to give opportunity for drilling and disciplin- 
ing the men. 

For the purpose of continuing the efforts to se- 
cure peace with the Savages by further treaty. 
President Washington, March 2, 1793, ap- 
pointed General Benjamin Lincoln of Massachu- 
setts, Beverly Randolph of Virginia, and Timothy 
Pickering of Pennsylvania, Commissioners, to 
attend the great council to be held in Amer- 
ican territory at the foot of the lowest Rapids 
of the Maumee, or at Sandusky, the ist of 
June. 

On May 17th, Messrs. Randolph and Pickering 
arrived at Fort Niagara, and there received a note 
from Lieutenant-Governor and Colonel John 
Graves Simcoe inviting them to become guests 
at his home, Navy Hall, nearly a mile from the 
fort; and there being no other suitable place for 



From 1 792- 1 793 87 

them to stop, the invitation was accepted. Gen- 
eral Lincoln arrived May 25th. 

Meantime a letter was received from Colonel 
McKee, British Indian Agent at Detroit, stating 
that the tribal councils by the Maumee would 
probably not end before the latter part of June 
and that the Commissioners had best remain at 
Niagara until he notified them that the Aborigines 
were ready to receive them. 

Colonel John Butler, a leader in the Wyoming 
Massacre in July, 1778, now a British Superin- 
tendent of Aborigine Affairs, and Captain Joseph 
Brant of like notoriety, with a picked company of 
fifty Savages, arrived at Niagara, July 5th. They 
came from the large collection of tribes then at 
the British distributing house at the foot of the 
Maumee Rapids, and requested an explanation 
of the "unfair and unwarrantable" warlike pre- 
parations of General Wayne; and they desired to 
know the authority for the trespassing of the 
Americans north of the Ohio River, all of which 
they claimed as territory belonging to the Abo- 
rigines. The Commissioners in reply cited in ex- 
planation the several treaties of previous years, 
and the subsequent maraudings of the Savages, 
and expressed desire for peace ; and an agreement 
was made to meet in full council at Sandusky. 



88 The Ohio Country 

The Commissioners were permitted to leave 
Niagara July loth and, awaiting a favorable wind, 
the British sloop on which they were passengers 
sailed from Fort Erie, opposite the present city of 
Buffalo, on the 14th, and arrived at the mouth of 
the Detroit River or Strait the 21st. They were 
received, and entertained during their enforced 
stay there of nearly four weeks, by Captain Mat- 
thew Elliott, British Assistant Agent for and to 
the Aborigines. So had they been with Simcoe, 
and yet were, in fact, prisoners of the British. 
They continued frequently to urge an early meet- 
ing of the council according to agreement, without 
satisfactory reply. 

On July 29th, a deputation of over twenty Abo- 
rigines, with the notorious Simon Girty as inter- 
preter, arrived at Captain Elliott's house from the 
grand council that had been for weeks assembled 
at the foot of the Maumee Rapids. After a brief 
preliminary, they presented to the Commissioners a 
short written communication, ostensibly from the 
council, the principal sentence of which was that, 
' ' If you seriously design to make a firm and lasting 
peace, you will immediately remove all your peo- 
ple from our side of that river " (the Ohio) . The 
Commissioners delivered to them in writing a long 
and carefully prepared reply in which the treaties 



From 1 792-1 793 89 

of 1768, '84, '85, '86, and '89 were referred to in 
justification of the advance of Americans into 
the territory north of the Ohio River, and with 
reasons why it was impossible at this late date to 
make this river the boundary; stating that the 
United States government was willing to make 
liberal concessions to the Aborigines, as the treaty 
with Great Britain declared the middle of the 
Great Lakes and the waters which unite them to 
be the boundary of the United States; and they 
closed the reply expressing the desire to meet the 
general council in treaty soon. 

On the 8th and 9th of August, the Commission- 
ers received verbal and chance reports that all 
the tribes represented at the Maumee council were 
for peace, with the exception of the Shawnees, 
Wyandots, 'Miamis, and Delawares, and that these 
were yielding; that many were tired of the long 
delays and were departing for their respective 
villages. The Commissioners again expressed 
strong desire to go directly to the Maumee council, 
which meeting was well within American territory ; 
but such action the British would not permit. On 
August 14th the American Commissioners wrote 
to the chiefs at the council, again urging a meeting 
for a treaty. They also wrote to Colonel McKee 
at that place, stating that his aid for such result 



90 The Ohio Country 

would be gratefully acknowledged. On the i6th, 
a long and carefully written reply was received at 
Captain Elliott's house by the Commissioners, 
which closed with the assertion that, if they would 
not agree to the Ohio River being the boundary, 
"a meeting would be altogether unnecessary." 
Appended to this paper were written the following 
names of "Nations" represented, viz.: Wyandots, 
Seven Nations of Canada, Delawares, Shawnees, 
Miamis, Ottawas, Chippewas, Senecas of the 
Glaise [Auglaize River], Pottawotamis, Connoys, 
Munsees, Nantakokias, Mohicans, Messasagoes, 
Creeks, Cherokees. 

This communication, like the others, was under- 
stood to be fully conceived and written by the 
British authorities; and it was certainly approved 
by their censors. This general council, as well as 
the one the year before by the Maumee River at 
the mouth of the Auglaize, was the result of British 
efforts for many years to federate all the Savages, 
as Simcoe stated that their dictated decision in 
council, and united action in war, might become 
irresistible to the Americans. Joseph Brant, 
leader in the Six Nations and generally a stanch 
friend of the British, declared that such united 
action: "caused the defeat of two American armies 
[Harmar's and St. Clair's]. . . But to our sur- 



From 1 792-1 793 91 

prise, when upon the point of entering upon a 
treaty with the [American] Commissioners, we 
found that it was opposed by those acting under 
the British Government." 

In reply to the ex-parte council's last communi- 
cation, the Commissioners regretfully sent to the 
chiefs and to the British Colonel McKee the state- 
ment that their efforts for negotiations were at an 
end; including with the letters copies of the for- 
mer treaties. 

On August 23 d the Commissioners, on their 
return, arrived by British boat opposite Fort Erie, 
where they dispatched, by different runners, a 
letter to General Wayne, and another to General 
Knox, Secretary of War, announcing their failure 
to secure terms of peace. 

A portrayal of grievances and claims against 
Great Britain was formally presented this year 
(1793), by the United States authorities to the 
British Minister, Hammond, and request for re- 
dress. The main points of this document are 
abstracted as follows : 

"The continued unjustifiable occupancy by the Brit- 
ish of military posts within United States territory. 

"The officers of these posts exercising jurisdiction 
over the country and inhabitants around these posts. 

"The exclusion of citizens of the United States from 



92 The Ohio Country 

navigating the waters inside the United States line 
named in the Treaty of Paris. 

"The intercepting of commerce with the Aborigines; 
which commerce should have been of great profit to 
the United States and her citizens not only on account 
of its intrinsic worth, but also because of its value as 
a means of insuring peace with the Aborigines, and 
of superseding the necessity for expensive warfare 
with them. 

"Also, that upon the withdrawal of the British 
troops from New York after the Treaty of Paris, in 
violation of this Treaty a large embarkation of Ne- 
groes, property of the inhabitants of the United States, 
had taken place before the Commissioners for inspect- 
ing and superintending embarkations on the part 
of the United States had arrived there; and that the 
British had not rendered any account thereof. 

"That nearly three thousand other Negroes were 
publicly carried away by the avowed order of the 
British commanding officer, and under the view and 
against the remonstrances of the Commissioners. 

"That a very great number of Negroes were also 
carried away in private vessels, if not by the ex- 
press permission of, yet certainly without opposition 
on the part of, the commanding officer who alone 
had the means of preventing it, and without admit- 
ting the inspection of the American Commissioners. 

"That, of other species of property carried away, 
the commanding officer permitted no examination." 

In support of these charges, specific documents of 
proof were attached. Other questions of serious 
nature also accompanied these charges of viola- 



From 1 792- 1 793 93 

tion of the Treaty of Paris, and of great defraud- 
ings of citizens of the United States. 

After the lapse of some months, Minister Ham- 
mond presented to Secretary Jefferson a series of 
charges that British creditors had been delayed in 
obtaining payment of their accounts; of alleged 
"unjust prosecutions, confiscations, and denials 
of justice in which British merchants and other of 
his Majesty's subjects [Tories] had suffered irrep- 
arable injury." 

To these charges, Secretary Jefferson soon 
returned what the British called "a bulky and in- 
genious document" written in his direct and force- 
ful style which quite filled them with dismay. It 
showed the British as by far the first, and greatest, 
transgressors, and that they should make redress. 
Hammond sent the document to the British Home 
Office, and there it rested. A year later Jefferson 
inquired regarding the matter, and received an 
indifferent answer. Another inquiry, after a lapse 
of several months, was met in a rather disdainful 
way. Hammond professed to get a little sympathy 
from Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the 
Treasury. It does not appear why a committee 
was not chosen to arbitrate the matter. It is evi- 
dent that the British were satisfied with the ad- 
vantages they possessed; and that most of the 



94 The Ohio Country 

Americans in authority were inclined to let the 
questions rest as they were, rather than to bring 
about another war with Great Britain. 

The animus of the British at this time is des- 
cribed in the following excerpt from the late writ- 
ings of one of their loyal subjects, viz. : 

"The negotiations between England and the United 
States were destined to stand still until the former 
should be able to judge, from the progress of events, 
the safest course to pursue. Not only the unsettled 
state of the government in America, but the notorious 
jealousy and the hardly concealed animosity of sev- 
eral European nations, manifested in their attitude 
toward England, made it her business to look strictly 
and cautiously after her own interests." 



CHAPTER VIII 

RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE MARCHES ON AGAINST 
GREAT OPPOSITION 

Advance of General Wayne's Army— Opposed by the Enemy 
— Builds Forts Greenville and Recovery — Cause of Brit- 
ish Aggressiveness yet More Apparent — Other Enemies 
of the United States — Separation of the Ohio Country 
from the United States again Suggested — British Build 
Two Additional Forts within United States Territory — 
Protests of the United States of no Avail — British and 
their Savage Allies Attack Fort Recovery and Are Re- 
pulsed — Further Account of Great Britain's Guiding 
Hand. 

GENERAL WAYNE believed that further 
delay would be an undue exposure of the 
frontier to savage incursions and, October 5, 
1793, he reported to the Secretary of War, from 
near Fort Washington, that his available army 
remained small from Kentucky disappointments, 
from fevers among his enlisted men, and from 
"the influenza [later called in America by the 
French name La Grippe] which has pervaded the 

95 



96 The Ohio Country 

whole line in a most alarming and rapid degree. 
. . . This is not a pleasant picture, but something 
must be done immediately to save the frontiers 
from impending savage fury. I will therefore 
advance to-morrow with the force I have in order 
to gain a strong position about six miles in front 
[north] of Fort Jefferson, so as to keep the enemy 
in check." 

On October 23 d, Wayne reported from this 
"strong position," which he named Fort Green- 
ville in honor of his friend in the Revolutionary 
War, General Nathaniel Greene, that: 

"We have recently experienced a little check to 
one of our convoys which may probably be exag- 
gerated into something serious by the tongue of fame 
before this reaches you; the following is, however, 
the fact, viz.: Lieutenant Lowry of the 2d sub-legion 
and Ensign Boyd of the ist with a command consisting 
of ninety non-commissioned officers and privates, 
having in charge twenty wagons belonging to the 
quartermaster general's department loaded with 
grain and one of the contractor's loaded with stores, 
were attacked early in the morning of the 17th in- 
stant about seven miles advanced of Fort St. Clair 
by a party of Aborigines; those two gallant young 
gentlemen (who promised at a future day to be orna- 
ments to their profession), together with thirteen non- 
commissioned officers and privates, bravely fell after 
an obstinate resistance against superior numbers, be- 
ing abandoned by the greater part of the escort upon 



From 1 793- 1 794 97 

the first discharge. The Savages killed or carried off 
about seventy horses, leaving the wagons and stores 
standing in the road, which have all been brought to 
this camp without any other loss or damage except 
some trifling articles. ... It is reported that the 
Aborigines at Au Glaize [present Defiance, Ohio] have 
sent their women and children into some secret recess 
or recesses from their towns; and that the whole of 
the warriors are collected or collecting in force. . . . 
A great number of men as well as officers have been 
left sick and debilitated at the respective garrisons, 
from a malady called the influenza; among others 
General Wilkinson has been dangerously ill ; he is now 
at Fort Jefferson and on the recovery. 

" The safety of the Western frontiers, the reputation 
of the legion, the dignity and interest of the nation, 
all forbid a retrograde manoeuvre, or giving up one 
inch of ground we now possess, until the enemy are 
compelled to sue for peace." 

Wayne's encampment at Greenville was forti- 
fied, and part of his army passed the winter there. 
Major Henry Burbeck, on December 23d, with 
eight companies of infantry and artillery, was or- 
dered to proceed to the place of General St. Clair's 
defeat, and there erect a fortification. This stock- 
ade enclosure with blockhouses was given the 
name Fort Recovery; and on the same site its 
name is perpetuated as that of a thriving village 
in Mercer County, Ohio. 

Observing this steady advance, with fortifica- 



98 The Ohio Country 

tions, toward their principal retreats, some of the 
Aborigines made a movement for peace ; and pos- 
sibly a treaty of peace could have been effected 
with many of them, but for the ever ready adverse 
influence of the British. Their desires and con- 
tinued efforts were "to unite the American Indi- 
ans" for their own better control of them; which 
policy Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe expressed at 
Niagara to the American Peace Commissioners as 
"the principle of the British government." And 
these efforts were also continued with the Creeks, 
Cherokees, and other tribes along the American 
frontiers south of the Ohio River, thus putting 
the United States to great expense in men and 
money for protection there, both before and after 
this date. 

These were troublous years to Americans 
generally, particularly to those resident west 
of the Allegheny Mountains. These were beset 
on all sides, by the British and Savages, and also 
by the machinations of the French and Spanish, 
both to involve them in complications with Great 
Britain, and to again incite the inhabitants of the 
trans-Allegheny region to a separation from the 
East. 

During these years before railroads, in addition 
to the remissness of sympathy and protection by 



From 1 793- 1 794 99 

Congress, the natural outlet for the products of the 
Ohio Basin down the Mississippi River had much 
to do with the disaffection of the settlers from the 
East. The statesmen of the East were largely re- 
sponsible for the beginning of this disaffection of 
the western settlers, from the want of sympathy 
in their sufferings, and the expressions and actions 
that this region was too far distant to be governed 
by the Atlantic States; also from the opinions that 
the East could not profit by their trade. 

Nor were the States in full accord between them- 
selves. Also the fear of another war with Great 
Britain was manifest in other ways than the dread 
of offending this nation by active measures to dis- 
possess it of the vantage possessed in the forts on 
American soil and in the alliance with the Aborig- 
ines. About this time Th. Dwight wrote to Wol- 
cott that: "A war with Great Britain, we, at 
least in New England, will not enter into. Sooner 
would ninety-nine out of every hundred of our 
inhabitants separate from the Union than plunge 
themselves into an abyss of misery." 

The Spanish, French, and British emissaries 
took advantage of every complication, and cir- 
culated their schemes among the settlers from 
Detroit to Kentucky and the Illinois country. 
General Wayne well styled this complexity an 



loo The Ohio Country- 

hydra, At this conjuncture, however, the gov- 
ernmental authorities became vigilant, with good 
success in several particulars.^ 

The Aborigine chiefs kept in close communica- 
tion with the British officials, not only with agents 
Elliott and McKee, but with Detroit and Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Simcoe of Niagara; and they 
even visited Governor-General Lord Dorchester. 
In an address of welcome to the chiefs February 
lo, 1794, Lord Dorchester spoke in part as follows: 

"Children, since my return I find no appearance of 
a line [boundary] remains; and from the manner in 
which the people of the United States push on and 
act [evidently referring to the Aborigine treaties, and 
the advance of General Wayne's army] and talk . . . 
I shall not be surprised if we are at war with them 
in the course of the present year; and if so a line 
must be drawn by the warriors. . . . We have acted 
in the most peaceable manner [sic], and borne the lan- 
guage and conduct of the people of the United States 
with patience; but I believe our patience is almost 
exhausted." 

» See President Washington's proclamation of neutrality; 
Secretary Jefferson's remonstrance regarding the overtures of 
the Spanish of the Mississippi to the Kentuckians; and against 
the incitings of the French Minister, Edmond Genest (often 
written Genet) to beget sympathy for the French revolution- 
ists against the British and Spanish. Also the American order 
to reoccupy Fort Massac on the north bank of the Ohio 
eight miles below the mouth of the Tennessee River, to inter- 
cept all illegal transit. 



From 1 793- 1 794 loi 

This mention of impending war was, evidently, 
no meaningless talk. Lieutenant-Governor Sim- 
coe was immediately sent to Detroit, he being 
there February i8th; and a letter from Detroit 
dated April 17th, reads in part that: 

" We have lately had a visit from Governor Simcoe; 
he came from Niagara through the woods. . . . He 
has gone to the foot of the [Maumee] Rapids, and 
three companies of Colonel [Richard] England's regi- 
ment have followed him to assist in building a fort 
there." 

This fort, Fort Miami, was a veritable strong- 
hold. It was built on the left bank of the Maumee 
River (the "Miami of Lake Erie"), near the lower 
limits of the present village of Maumee, Lucas 
County, Ohio, which site was then, as now, a 
great advance into United States territory. Super- 
intendent McKee's British Agency and supply 
house was about one mile-and-a-half above this 
fort, and near the lowest rapids of the Maumee — ■ 
an encroachment of nearly forty miles upon the 
American soil. 

The British also built another fort twelve to fif- 
teen miles within American territory, situated on - 
Turtle Island, just outside of Maumee Bay, tw^ty » 
miles or more northeast from their Fort Miami. 
The reinforcements of Wayne's command by Ken- 



I02 The Ohio Country 

tucky troops, and all the movements of the army, 
were regularly reported at this Fort Miami and at 
Fort Lemoult, Detroit; and, at the advance of 
General Wayne, Fort Miami was strengthened 
and further garrisoned, and Major William Camp- 
bell of the British Army was sent to replace 
Captain Caldwell, its first commandant. 

President Washington, through Edmund Ran- 
dolph, Secretary of State, complained to the 
British Government of Lord Dorchester's address 
to the Savages, which had been widely circulated 
among them and the Americans; and he also 
protested against the building of Fort Miami on 
American' territory. The replies showed that the 
London Government instigated the aggressions, 
and offered no relief. 

General Wayne reported on July 7, 1794, from 
his headquarters at Fort Greenville, that: 

"At seven o'clock in the morning of the 30th 
ultimo one of our escorts, consisting of ninety riflemen 
and fifty dragoons commanded by Major McMahon, 
was attacked by numerous body of Aborigines under 
the walls of Fort Recovery, followed by a general 
assault upon that post and garrison [of about two 
hundred men] in every direction. The enemy were 
soon repulsed with great slaughter, but they im- 
mediately rallied and reiterated the attack, keeping 
up a very heavy and constant fire at a more respect- 



From 1 793- 1 794 103 

able distance for the remainder of the day, which 
was answered with spirit and efifect by the garrison 
and a part of Major McMahon's command that had 
regained the post. The Savages were employed 
during the night [which was foggy and dark] in carry- 
ing off their dead by torch light which occasionally 
drew a fire from the garrison. They, nevertheless, 
succeeded so well that there were but eight or ten 
bodies left upon the field, and those close under the 
range of the guns of the fort. 

" The enemy again renewed the attack on the morn- 
ing of the ist instant, but were ultimately compelled 
to retreat with loss and disgrace from that very field 
where they had upon a former occasion been proudly 
victorious." 



It was apparent that "there were a considerable 
number of the British and the militia of Detroit 
mixed with the Savages in the assault," and they 
expected to find the cannon lost by General St. 
Clair; but these had been found by the Ameri- 
cans who used them against the assailants. The 
American loss in the Battle of Fort Recovery was 
twenty-two killed, thirty wounded, and three miss- 
ing. Of the horses, fifty-nine were killed, twenty- 
two wounded, and two hundred and twenty-one 
were missing ; but the General reported that their 
loss would not in the least retard the advance of 
the legion after the arrival of the expected 
mounted volunteers from Kentucky. 



I04 The Ohio Country 

The British had again been having communi- 
cation with the Spanish of the Mississippi, who 
promised to help them against the Americans. 

McKee continued supplying the Savages with 
the best of firearms (rifles) and other articles of 
war. Such were used in the attack on Fort Re- 
covery. A party of Dela wares and Shawnees after- 
ward showed six American scalps before McKee 
and addressed him in part as follows: 

"We had two actions with Wayne's troops in 
which a great many of our enemies were killed. 
Part of their flesh we have brought here with us to 
convince our friend of the truth of their being now 
in great force on their march against us; therefore, 
Father, we desire you to be strong and bid your chil- 
dren make haste to our assistance as was promised." 

In further confirmation of the aggressive action 
of the British, and of their apprehension that the 
Americans would retaliate to their harm, the fol- 
lowing letters from Colonel Alexander McKee, 
British Agent to the Aborigines, written to Colonel 
Richard England, Commandant at Detroit, are 
given, they being endorsed, "On His Majesty's 
Service," viz.: 

" [Foot of the Maumee] Rapids, 

"July 5. 1794- 
"Sir: I send this by a party of Saganas [Saginaw 
Aborigines] who returned yesterday from Fort 



From 1 793-1 794 105 

Recovery where the whole body of Indians, except 
the Delawares who had gone another route, impru- 
dently attacked the fort on Monday the 30th of last 
month, and lost 16 or 17 men besides a good many 
wounded. 

" Everything had been settled prior to their leaving 
the fallen timber [about four miles above foot of the 
rapids] and it had been agreed upon to confine them- 
selves to taking convoys and attacking at a distance 
from the forts, if they shotild have the address to 
entice the enemy [Americans] out ; but the impetuos- 
ity of the Mackinac Indians and their eagerness to 
begin the nearest, prevailed with the others to alter 
their system, the consequences of which from the 
present appearance of things may most materially 
injure the interests of these people. Both the Mackinac 
and Lake Indians seemed resolved on going home 
again, having completed the belts they carried with 
scalps and prisoners, and having no provisions there 
at the Glaize [the present Defiance, Ohio] to subsist 
upon, so that his Majesty's posts will derive no se- 
curity from the late great influx of Indians into 
this part of the country, should they persist in their 
resolution of returning so soon. 

"The immediate object of the attack was three 
hundred packhorses going from this fort [Recovery] 
to Fort Greenville, in which the Indians completely 
succeeded, taking and killing all of them. But the 
commanding officer. Captain Gibson, sending out a 
troop of cavalry, and bringing his infantry out in 
front of his post, the Indians attacked him and 
killed about fifty, among whom is Captain Gibson 
and two other officers. On the near approach of 
the Indians to the fort, the remains of his garrison 



io6 The Ohio Country 

retired into it, and from their loopholes killed and 
wounded as already mentioned. Captain Elliott 
writes that they are immediately to hold a council at 
the Glaize [Auglaize or Grand Glaise, as above] in 
order to try if they can prevail upon the Lake In- 
dians to remain ; but without provisions, ammunition, 
&c., being sent to that place, I conceive it will be 
extremely difficult to keep them together. 
"With great respect, I have the honor to be 
" Your obedient and humble servant, 

"A. McKee." 

Great efforts were again made by the British, 
not only to keep together the Savages already near 
"their posts," but to have those "who had gone 
another route" return to them. Another letter 
from McKee to Colonel England reads as follows : 

"Rapids, August 13, 1794. 

"Sir: I was honored last night with your letter 
of the nth, and was extremely glad to find you are 
making such exertions to supply the Indians with 
provisions. 

" Captain Elliott arrived yesterday ; what he has 
brought will greatly relieve us, having been obliged 
yesterday to take all the corn and flour which the 
traders had here. 

" A scouting party from the Americans carried off 
a man and a woman yesterday morning between this 
place and Roche de Bout, and afterwards attacked 
a small party of Delawares in their camp; but 
they were repulsed with the loss of a man, whom 
they either hid or threw into the river. They killed 



From 1 793-1 794 107 

a Delaware woman. Scouts are sent up to view the 
situation of the army; and we now muster looo 
Indians. All the Lake Indians from Sagina down- 
wards should not lose one moment in joining 
their brethren, as every accession of strength is an 
addition to their spirits. I have the honor to be, &c. 

"A. McKee." 

The testimony of Savages of different tribes, 
taken by General Wayne, and others, yet further 
confirms the influence of the British in promoting, 
and fomenting, the war, even after most of the 
tribes desired peace with the Americans. 



CHAPTER IX 

Wayne's army defeats a hydra op 
conspiracies 

Further Advance of Wayne's Army — A Most Momentous 
Campaign — Builds Forts Adams and Defiance — The 
Enemy Flees — Wayne's Last Overture for Peace — The 
Army Nears the Enemy — Builds Fort Deposit, and 
Advances to Complete Victory — Buildings and Crops of 
British and their Allies Destroyed — Wayne's Emphatic 
Letters to the Commandant of Fort Miami — The Cas- 
ualties — Army Returns and Strengthens Fort Defiance — • 
The Red Savages — British Strengthen their Forts in 
United States Territory. 

I\ A AJOR-GENERAL CHARLES SCOTT, with 
^^ *■ about sixteen hundred volunteer cavalry- 
men from Kentucky, who had been sent home 
for the winter, rejoined General Wayne's army, 
then numbering possibly two thousand soldiers, 
at Fort Greenville July 26, 1794; and the next 
day General Wayne ordered the general advance 
movement for the 28th. 

This was to be a most momentous campaign. 
108 



1794 I09 

If this, the third army against these "alHed" foes, 
be defeated, the country west and southwest of 
the Allegheny Mountains would, evidently, thence- 
forth be completely dominated by the British, 
and completely lost to the Americans, unless a 
general war was declared with Great Britain. 

The army took up its march on the morning 
named in General Order, and soon evidences of 
the enemies' scouts became apparent. It was 
necessary to make a road through the great for- 
est, composed of great trees of oak, beech, maple, 
etc., which were larger and more numerous as the 
army advanced. The deep Beaver Swamp had to 
be bridged with "infinite" labor. At the crossing 
of the River St. Mary, a stop of two days was made 
for the -purpose of building a fort, which was 
named Fort Adams. Here General Wayne was 
caught under a falling tree while urging more 
haste upon the choppers of logs for blockhouses 
and palisades. This accident "nearly put an end 
to his existence" but his indomitable will power 
forced him, and his army, forward without delay, 
and against all obstacles. 

On August 8, 1794, the army arrived at its 
"Camp Grand Oglaize" (junction of the Auglaize 
River with the Maumee, site of the present city of 
Defiance, Ohio) at half-past ten o'clock in the 



no The Ohio Country 

morning. Here Wayne and his army were de- 
lighted with the beauty and fertility of the region. 
His diarist wrote that: 

"This place far excels in beauty any in the western 
country, and believed equalled by none in the Atlantic 
States. Here are vegetables of every kind in abun- 
dance; and we have marched four or five mil^s in corn 
fields down the Oglaize [Auglaize], and there are not 
less than one thousand acres of com round the town. " 

This being the point of confluence of three rivers, 
the Auglaize and Bean (later named the Tiffin) 
with the Maumee, it was naturally a great gather- 
ing place for the Aborigines; and but the evening 
before the arrival of the army a large number of 
them fled down the Maumee, and their straggling 
huts were found abandoned. This fact General 
Wayne attributed to their being informed regard- 
ing the details of his army by a deserter from his 
ranks a few days before; and the General consid- 
ered it a favorable circumstance. He had feinted 
toward the Miami villages at the head of the Mau- 
mee, and then as he thought toward Roche de Bout, 
then followed down the left bank of the Auglaize 
River "in a central direction"; and he congratu- 
lated himself, as well as the Secretary of War, 
that he had "gained possession of the grand em- 
porium of the hostile Aborigines of the West 



1794 III 

without loss of blood." Hereabout, as well as 
elsewhere along the rivers, the British had en- 
couraged the women of the Savages to cultivate 
com and vegetables to relieve as much as possible 
the demands of the Savages on the British food 
supplies. 

The army remained at the mouth of the Au- 
glaize River about one week. During this time 
there was here built, with Wayne's characteristic 
energy, a strong fort which he named Fort Defi- 
ance, a place where he could defy the red Savages 
and their British allies. 

He not only planned and superintended the 
building of this fort, but from the first day of his 
arrival he continued his efforts to win over the 
Savages to peace with the United States, sending 
to them by "special flag" a well prepared letter 
which he styled his last overture for peace. He 
told the warriors addressed that he held the sev- 
eral Aborigines, who had been captured by his 
scouts, as hostages for the safe return of his "spe- 
cial flag." The bearer of this was Christopher 
Miller, who had lived with the Aborigines several 
years, and had been captured from them six 
months before being chosen to bear this flag. 

General Wayne felt confident of success in the 
event of a conflict with the enemy. The day be- 



112 The Ohio Country 

fore starting" from Fort Defiance to meet whoever 
opposed him, he wrote to the Secretary of War 
reporting the situation of the enemies, and added : 
"Should war be their choice, that blood be upon 
their own heads. America shall no longer be in- 
sulted with impunity. To an all powerful and 
just God I therefore commit myself and gallant 
army." 

On August 1 5th, leaving a garrison of about one 
hundred soldiers to guard, and to continue work 
on. Fort Defiance, as had also been done at the 
other forts, the army marched about forty-four 
miles down the left bank of the Maumee River 
toward the Fallen Timber, a place chosen by the 
enemies to make their stand against the oncoming 
Americans. 

On the 1 8th, Wayne and his anny arrived op- 
posite Roche de Bout, a narrow mass of sectile 
limestone that had been left in the river in wear- 
ing its channel, and which had been a landmark 
for the French for over one hundred years. Upon 
the high, precipitous left bank, the General 
planned an encampment within which the soldiers 
"threw up works to secure and deposit the heavy 
baggage of the troops, so that the men might be 
light for action, provided the enemy have pre- 
sumption to favor us with an interview, which if 



1794 1^3 

they should think proper to do, the troops are in 
such high spirits that we will make an easy victory 
of them." 

At five o'clock in the morning of August 20th, 
1794, the army marched from Fort Deposit down 
the left bank of the Maumee and, about three 
miles distant, met the enemy in Fallen Timber 
(the result of a former tornado) on and around 
Presque Isle, a prominence on the river bank, a 
former island in the river's early geologic history 
and another landmark of the early French. The 
enemy was here hidden in the grass and behind 
the fallen trees, and the unexpected discharge 
of their guns into the ranks at short range threw 
Wayne's advance guard into confusion; but the 
army was prepared for this and there was an im- 
mediate rally with definite orders from the Gen- 
eral, who at once saw the condition of affairs. 
The quickly ordered "charge with trailed arms" 
routed the Savages from their ambush and the 
rapid attack and slaughter of them in front and 
flank soon caused their general and promiscuous 
flight, with the Americans in such rapid and close 
pursuit for three or four miles, even to within 
range of the British Fort Miami's guns, that only 
part of Wayne's command could participate. 
General Wayne reported that: 



114 The Ohio Country 

"From every account the enemy amounted to two 
thousand combatants. The troops actually engaged 
against them were short of nine hundred . . . with 
loss of thirty-three killed and one hundred wounded 
[eleven of whom died before this report was written]. 
The loss of the enemy, composed of Aborigines, Cana- 
dian militia, and volunteers, was more than double 
to that of the Federal army. The woods were strewed 
for a considerable distance with dead bodies of the 
Aborigines and their white auxiliaries." 

On his march down the river, about sixteen 
miles below Fort Defiance, General Wayne was 
met by Christopher Miller, his '* special fl^g, " on 
his return from the enemy. The reply to the Gen- 
eral's "last overture for peace" was, "If you will 
remain at Grand Oglaize [Fort Defiance] ten days 
we will let you know whether we will be for peace 
or war." It was fortunate for the Canadian Brit- 
ish that General Wayne did not mind this reply. 
August 1 8th, two days before the Battle of Fallen 
Timber, Lieutenant-Governor and Colonel Simcoe 
wrote to Governor-General Lord Dorchester that 
he "would go to Detroit with all the force he could 
muster." Simcoe was pronounced in his hope that 
this third large American army would meet the 
fate of the other two. General Wayne's report 
shows that reinforcements of the enemy were 
received two days before, and later reports show 



1794 "5 

reinforcement a few days after, the battle. His 
report to the Secretary of War further reads as 
follows : 

"The Americans remained three days and nights 
on the banks of the Maumee in front of the field of 
battle, during which time all the houses and cornfields 
were consumed and destroyed for a considerable dis- 
tance, both above and below Fort Miami, as well as 
within pistol shot of that garrison, who were com- 
pelled to remain tacit spectators to this general 
devastation and conflagration, among which were 
the houses, stores and property of Colonel McKee the 
British Aborigine agent and principal stimulator of 
the war now existing between the United States and 
the Savages." 

Major William Campbell of the British 24th 
Regiment, who was commanding officer of Fort 
-Miami, early addressed a note to General Wayne 
protesting against his near approach to "a post 
belonging to his Majesty the King of Great Britain, 
occupied by his Majesty's troops," declaring that 
he "knew of no war existing between Great Britain 
and America." This gave occasion for two sharp 
letters from General Wayne, ordering the Major 
to get out of American territory with his command, 
Wayne knowing of course that an officer must 
obey only the orders of his commanding officer; 
but he chafed under this restraint, and reported 



ii6 The Ohio Country 

to the Secretary of War, regarding Major Camp- 
bell's third courteous but firm letter, that: 

"The only notice taken of this letter, was by im- 
mediately setting fire to, and destroying, everything 
within view of the fort, and even under the muzzles 
of his guns. Had Mr. Campbell carried his threats 
into execution, it is more than probable that he would 
have experienced a storm." 

Prisoners were captured at the Battle of Fallen 
Timber, British soldiers and subjects, as well as 
their allies, the Savages, and they gave much im- 
portant information and evidence. 

The army arrived at Fort Defiance, on its return, 
August 27th. The same fortifying of Wayne's 
camps was continued, to a moderate degree, as 
had been done with his advance, he always being 
on the guard against surprise by the stealthy foe. 
This gave rise to the statement by the Savages 
that General Wayne "never slept." The rapidity 
and security of his army's movements through 
"their country" caused them to call him "the 
wind " ; and his impetuous, and to them disastrous, 
charge and pursuit at the Battle of Fallen Tim- 
ber gave him the name of "whirlwind" by their 
survivors. 

Near the close of Wayne's report after his re- 
turn to Fort Defiance, he wrote in part as follows: 



1794 117 

"It Is, however, not improbable that the enemy 
may make one desperate effort against this army, as 
it is said that a reinforcement was hourly expected 
at Fort Miami from Niagara as well as numerous 
tribes of Aborigines living on the margin and islands 
of the lakes. This is a business rather to be wished 
for rather than dreaded whilst the army remains in 
force. Their numbers will only tend to confuse the 
Savages and the victory will be the more complete 
and decisive, and which may eventually ensure a 
permanent and happy peace. " 

Attention was at once given to the strengthening 
of Fort Defiance by the army, and the gathering 
of the com and vegetables growing within com- 
fortable distance. The walls and roofs of the four 
blockhouses, and the palisades, were made "bomb 
proof"; a broad water-moat was made, with 
glacis nearly surrounding, and fascines with pick- 
ets. The junction of the Auglaize with the Mau- 
mee River was approached by an underground 
passageway for a safe and unlimited supply of 
water. This was the strongest fortification built 
by Wayne. 

Immediately following the Battle of Fallen 
Timber, many of the Savages, not finding the ex- 
pected support and protection from the British 
Fort Miami, fled to Detroit, the British head- 
quarters, where an estimate placed their number, 



ii8 The Ohio Country 

within a few days, at thirteen hundred. Addi- 
tional evidence of the severe effect of the battle 
on them and the British militia with them there, 
was the equipment, at Detroit, of another hos- 
pital with an additional surgeon, the expense of 
which was approved by Lieutenant-Governor 
Simcoe October 31st. 

The British also proceeded at once to strengthen 
Fort Lernoult at Detroit; and a blockhouse was 
built on the opposite side of the river; also six gun- 
boats were constructed for patrolling the river 
and communicating with Forts Turtle Island and 
Miami. 

As fast as possible Colonel McKee assembled 
the Savages by the Maumee River at the mouth 
of Swan Creek, about eight miles below Fort Mi- 
ami. The autumn and the following winter were 
times of great suffering among them. Their crops 
having been destroyed by the army, rendered them 
more than ever dependent on the British who, 
not being prepared for so great a task, and withal 
quite fatigued before with their exactions, "did 
not half supply them." They were huddled so 
closely together along the Maumee that much 
sickness prevailed from want of sanitary regula- 
tions, exposure, and scant food supply, in addi- 
tion to the malaria of the warmer weather, stored 



1794 119 

in their systems. The few domestic animals they 
possessed also languished, died, or were killed, 
and were eaten by their masters. They became 
impatient, murmured at the failure of the British 
to protect and supply them according to promise, 
and lamented that they had not made peace with 
the Americans. 

The British also suffered severely during this 
time. Colonel Richard England wrote, October 
28, 1794, to Francis Le Maitre, British Military 
Secretary, complaining of the great amount of food 
supplies taken by Colonel McKee (to the Maume^ 
River at the mouth of Swan Creek) for the Aborig- 
ines; also for those taken "for the garrisons at 
Fort Miamies [about thirty-five miles within Amer- 
ican territory] and at Turtles Island" (at the 
mouth of Maumee Bay). He paid the soldiers of 
these garrisons "a dollar a chord for Cutting & 
piling the Fire wood necessary for these Posts for 
the winter. " Loss by death at these posts ' ' by 
that unfavorable climate " was very severe. At 
the date of Colonel England's writing there were : 

"of the 24th Regiment only one hundred & fifty-four 
on the Surgeon's sick list Report. Those who sur- 
vive will not I fear be fit for any Duty this winter, 
as their disorder is of such a nature as to give but 
little hope of a speedy or permanent recovery. 



I20 The Ohio Country 

Every attention is paid to them that this [Detroit] 
Post will admit of, but from the very unusual Con- 
sumption of Medicine, Our Stock, as well as all that 
could be purchased here, is totally Expended, and 
we look with impatience for a supply from Lower 
Canada." 



CHAPTER X 

THE TAMING OF THE BROKEN SAVAGE SPIRIT 

Wayne Marches his Army to the Site of the Miami Villages — 
There Builds Fort Wayne — Receives and Makes Valuable 
Friends of Deserters from the British — Disaffection of 
Kentucky Volunteers — They are Sent Home — Savage 
Scouts Active at Fort Defiance — Wayne's Suggestion of 
General Council with Aborigines Meets Favor. 

/^ENERAL WAYNE and army remained at 
^-^ Fort Defiance until September 14, 1794, 
nursing the wounded, sick, and fatigued, working 
about the fort, discipHning his army, gathering 
the crops, and despatching detachments for other 
needed supplies. These detachments were de- 
layed by bad condition of trails, bad weather, and 
malarial affections; and the troops on varied duties 
also suffered with ague and alHed affections. A 
few thoughtless ones strayed beyond the officers' 
orders, and were killed or captured by prowling 
Savages. 

Fort Defiance being completed, well garrisoned. 



122 The Ohio Country 

and supplied, and everything being in readiness, 
the army took up the line of march in the morning 
of September 14th, crossed to the left (north) 
bank of the Maumee, and moved westward, the 
destination being the site of the Miami villages 
at the head of the river, the place of General 
Harmar's sad defeat four years previous. Arrival 
there was made toward evening of the 17th, with- 
out molestation or very serious experience. 

The next day, the General selected the site for, 
and planned, a fort, which the army built as soon 
as the now wet and windy weather would permit. 

Four deserters from the British arrived the 23d, 
and gave valuable information. This was the 
second lot of four who arrived this week. On 
the 26th, one of the army's scouts reported that 
the Savages had been troublesome at Fort Defi- 
ance, killing some of the garrison under its walls. 

The work on the new fort progressed well for a 
time; then the volunteers from Kentucky lost 
patience with work and started to disobey the 
orders of their General, Scott. He, however, was 
equal to the occasion, telling them that "if they 
made the smallest delay they should lose all their 
pay and be reported to the war office as revolters." 
For a short time this had the desired eff'ect upon 
them ; and the entire army was improved in obedi- 



From 1 794-1 795 123 

ence therefrom. The diary for next day, October 
3d, reads that "Every officer, non-commissioned 
officer, and soldier belonging to the square arc on 
fatigue this day, hauling trees on the hind wheels 
of wagons." Again on the 7th, "The volunteers 
are soon tired of work and have refused to labor 
any longer; they have stolen and killed seventeen 
beeves in the course of these two days past." In 
consequence, all the soldiers were necessarily con- 
fined to half rations for some days. 

General Wayne continued active with Canadian 
deserters from the British, and the reports brought 
to him by them. He found opportunity to win 
their aid toward furthering the American cause; 
for, by giving them pardon, and some pecuniary 
profit for supplying the American garrisons, he 
won their influence in diverting the American Sav- 
ages from the British to the Americans, their 
rightful advisers. These deserters well performed 
their part of the contract, and the result again 
showed the wisdom of President Washington's 
choice' of a commander for this very important 
kind of work, as well as for discipline and battle. 

On October 12th, the mounted volunteers from 
Kentucky were started for Fort Greenville, to be 
mustered and dismissed; and six days later other 
detachments moved away for special work. The 



124 The Ohio Country- 

next day, Sunday, the troops remaining at the 
head of the river were not ordered to work, it 
being the first day of rest for four weeks ; and they 
were gathered for divine service. 

On the 2 2d, the command of the new fort was 
given to Lieutenant-Colonel Hamtramck, with 
five companies of infantry and one company of 
artillery. The troops were paraded; he ordered 
the "firing fifteen rounds of cannon," one for each 
State then composing the Union, and gave the 
new post the name Fort Wayne. This fort was 
destined to be the most enduring of all General 
Wayne's fortifications, lasting twenty-four years. 
While not so compact and strong for defence as 
Fort Defiance, it was to become a very important 
post for the completion of its builder's work in 
subjugating the Savages, so well begun; and a 
place for acting an important part in a later war 
against the continued aggressions of the British 
and their savage allies. Its name and site, as 
those of Fort Defiance, have been perpetuated in 
a beautiful, flourishing, and patriotic city. 

Leaving Fort Wayne and the appointed garri- 
son in good condition, the remainder of Wayne's 
army resumed its march October 28, 1794, pass- 
ing up the right bank of the St. Marys River, 
past Fort Adams, to the site of the present 



From 1 794-1 795 125 

city of St. Marys, where Wayne afterwards built 
a fort, and thence southward. They arrived at 
Fort Greenville November 2, 1794, receiving from 
there a salute of "twenty-four rounds from a six- 
pounder." 

General Wayne could not remain idle; nor 
would he permit his soldiers to remain idle. His 
grasp of the situation was complete, and his views 
of its necessities were practical. His first duty 
was to keep his trains of packhorses on the trail, 
along the great number of long, weary miles 
through the wilderness, going for, and returning 
with, supplies for his army and for his several 
forts. 

The situation also required more fortifications, 
and protected camping places for the supply 
trains. In person, he carefully selected the sites, 
and planned, and directed his soldiers to build. 
Forts Piqua and Loramie by the upper waters of 
the Miami River (flowing southward into the Ohio) ; 
Fort St. Mary, by the river with the same name, 
the southern tributary of the Maumee River, and 
Fort Auglaize, by the "head of the Auglaize." 
This was the head of its navigation, at the north 
end of the portage from Fort St. Mary 16 the Au- 
glaize River, and thus communicated directly 
with Fort Defiance by a shorter and better way 



126 The Ohio Country 

than his first trail. The sites of these forts, Hke 
those of all other forts built by this wide-awake 
General, were well chosen; and larger fortifications 
were there built for the War of i8 12, as shown on 
later pages. 

The Secretary of War was kept informed, by 
full reports, regarding these works, and of the 
General's activities in diplomatically bringing 
about further changes in the minds of the Aborig- 
ines regarding their best interests. This work 
began soon after the Battle of Fallen Timber. 

George Ironside, an observing and honest 
Englishman and former prominent British trader 
among the Aborigines at the junction of the Au- 
glaize with the Maumee River, where Wayne 
later built Fort Defiance, also gave aid to this 
work by writing and saying that, at the Battle of 
Fallen Timber, "The Aborigines as yet had felt 
only the weight of General Wayne's little finger, 
and that he would surely destroy all the tribes if 
they did not turn to peace with the Americans." 

Some Frenchmen, British soldiers captured in 
Wayne's great battle, and also later deserters 
from the British, were soon won over to Wayne 
by his strong personality, and to the American 
cause by its reasonableness; and they became 
willing and valuable agents in approaching and 



From 1 794-1 795 127 

converting the Aborigines in the time of their 
great distress in the winter of 1794-95, following 
the destruction of their crops, and the neglect 
of them by their allies, the British. On invitation, 
chiefs visited the American fortifications, and Gen- 
eral Wayne at Greenville, where their temporary 
wants were supplied; and a grand council of them 
with the Americans was suggested. This sugges- 
tion was well received by the visiting chiefs, and 
they were instructed to communicate this request 
to others. 

General Wayne's Reports to the Secretary of 
War contain much valuable information. That 
of December 23, 1794, reads in part as follows: 

**I have the honor to inform you that the flag from 
the Wyandots of Sandusky, after an absence of forty- 
two days, returned to Greenville on the everting of 
the 14th instant. 

"The enclosed copies of letters and speeches will 
best demonstrate the insidious part recently taken by 
the British agents, Messrs. Simcoe, McKee and Brant, 
to stimulate the savages to continue the war, who, 
being too well acquainted with the near approach 
of that period in which the legion [Wayne's army] 
will be dissolved, have artfully suggested a suspension 
of hostilities until spring, in order to lull us into a state 
of security to prevent the raising of troops, and to 
afford the Aborigines an opportunity to make their 
fall and winter hunt unmolested. 



128 The Ohio Country 

"In the interim the British are vigilantly employed 
in strengthening and making additions to their forti- 
fication at the foot of the rapids of the Miamies of the 
Lake [Maumee River] evidently with a view of con- 
vincing the Aborigines of their determination to as- 
sist and protect them; hence there is strong ground to 
conclude that Governor Simcoe has not received any 
orders to the contrary, otherwise he would not pre- 
sume to persevere in those nefarious acts of hostility. 

"The Wyandots and other Aborigines at and in the 
vicinity of the rapids of Sandusky River, are com- 
pletely within our power, and their hunting grounds 
all within striking distance; hence their present 
solicitude for a suspension of hostilities. 

"But unless Congress has already, or will im- 
mediately adopt effectual measures to raise troops to 
garrison this as well as the other posts already estab- 
lished, it would only be a work of supererogation, 
as the whole must otherwise be abandoned by the 
middle of May. I have, however, succeeded in 
dividing and distracting the counsels of the hostile 
Aborigines, and hope through that means eventually 
to bring about a general peace, or to compel the re- 
fractory to pass the Mississippi and to the northwest 
side of the lakes. 

"The British agents have greatly the advantage in 
this business at present by having it in their power to 
furnish the Aborigines with every necessary supply of 
arms, ammunition, and clothing, in exchange for 
their skins and furs, which will alwa3^s make the 
Savages dependent upon them until the United States 
establish trading houses in their country, from which 
they can be supplied with equal facility, and at 
reasonable rates. " 



From 1 794-1 795 129 

This suggestion of trading posts for the Aborig- 
ines, a measure that should have been put in exe- 
cution years before, was later adopted by the 
United States; but, by that time, the British had 
circumvented the good the system should have 
done both to the Aborigines and to the United 
States. 

Wayne's work to draw the Aborigines away 
from the British influence was not of an easy 
character, nor were his strong and prudent 
efforts attended with constant success. As he 
stated, the British had the advantage; in fact 
they had several advantages; and McKee rallied 
the authorities to renewed activities. McKee, 
in a letter of March 27, 1795, to Joseph Chew, 
Secretary of the British Aborigine Office, chided 
the government for leaving to shift for them- 
selves "the poor Indians who have long fought 
for us, and bled freely for us, which is no bar 
to a peaceable accommodation with America." 

The British had several times before, during the 
Revolutionary War, met General Wayne under 
conditions in their favor, and had found in him 
an opponent whose prowess was worthy of their 
best efforts. This contest against them and their 
savage allies, destined to be his last great work 
for his country, was yet to show the enemies that 



130 The Ohio Country 

this typical American soldier had lost none of his 
patriotism, alertness, and wisdom; characteristics 
which had shed a lustre on American arms that 
will never fade. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL TREATIES WITH THE 
SAVAGES 

Discipline in the Army — Wayne's Diplomacy in Winning the 
Savages to Peace — His Agents in the Work — Exchange 
of Prisoners — The Treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795 — 
Number of Tribes in the Agreement. 

jSJOTWITHSTANDING the great victories of 
■'• ^ the armies and navies of the United Colo- 
nies and States of America, peace has had victo- 
ries greater than war throughout this nation's 
history; and her forbearance toward offenders, 
and her magnanimity toward the conquered, have 
been examples to all nations which have added 
greatly to the peace and civilization of all other 
peoples; and these great principles of humanity 
will continue to increase in power therefrom 
throughout the world. 

The victories of General Wayne's army were 
signal in this campaign through the wilderness 
far from the base of supplies; but his victory for 

131 



132 The Ohio Country 

the peace, soon to follow, opened up the way to con- 
quer, without further shedding of blood, all of the 
Savages and, also, for a time, their allies the British. 
General Wayne was a good judge of men. His 
choice of Colonel John Francis Hamtramck as 
commandant of Fort Wayne was well considered 
and appropriate. This site of the noted "Miami 
Villages" had been the headquarters of the Mia- 
mis and other strong tribes of Savages for gener- 
ations; and hence, for many years, had emanated 
numerous raiding and murdering parties of Sav- 
ages against the American frontiers. Colonel 
Hamtramck was a small Canadian Frenchman, 
who had been many years in the American ser- 
vice, and, always having proved himself patriotic, 
capable, and meritorious, had been advanced ac- 
cordingly. His letter-book, which was in part 
saved from destruction in Detroit after his death, 
sheds some sidelights on the character of his sol- 
diers, the government's orders for discipline at 
that time, and the work of winning the Savages to 
peace. Hamtramck' s reports were all addressed 
from Fort Wayne to General Wayne at Greenville, 
and some of them are in part as follows, the first 
iinder date December 5, 1794: 

" It is with a great degree of mortification that I 
am obliged to inform Your Excellency of the great 



From 1 794-1 795 133 

propensity many of the soldiers have for larceny. I 
have flogged them until I am tired. The economic 
allowance of one hundred lashes, allowed by govern- 
ment, does not appear a sufficient inducement for a 
rascal to act the part of an honest man. I have now a 
number in confinement and in irons for having stolen 
four quarters of beef on the night of the 3d instant. 
I could wish them to be tried by a general court 
martial, in order to make an example of some of 
them. I shall keep them confined until the pleasure 
of your excellency is known. " 

The General had a better way of dealing with 
his men than flogging them' — a way that appealed 
to their thoughtful and better judgment for the 
control of their excesses, and for the proper obed- 
ience of all the orders of their officers, so necessary 
for soldiers and the cause they represent ; when so 
far in the wilderness particularly. He held the 
confidence and respect of his men, and they quickly 
responded to his every wish; otherwise he could 
not have swept through this dense and difficult 
* ' black swamp " the way he had done, and so 
quickly crushed all opposition of the enemies in 
the great battle by the Maumee. 

Colonel Hamtramck's letters continue, with date 
December 29th: 

"Yesterday a number of chiefs of the Chippeways, 
Ottawas, Socks [Sacs] and Potawotamies arrived 
here with the two Lassells deserters from the British. 



134 The Ohio Country- 

It appears that the Shawanese, Delawares, and 
Miamies remain still under the influence of McKee; 
but Lassell thinks that they will be compelled to come 
into the measures of the other Aborigines. After 
the chiefs have rested a day or two, I will send them 
to headquarters. 

"December 29th: . . . Sirnce my letter to Your 
Excellency of the present date, two war-chiefs have 
arrived from the Miami nation, and inform me that 
their nation will be here in a few days, from whence 
they will proceed to Greenville. They also bring 
intelligence of the remaining tribes of savages ac- 
ceding to the prevalent wish for peace, and collecting 
for the purpose the chiefs of their nations, who, 
it is expected, will make their appearance at this 
post about the same time the Miamies may come 
forward. 

"January 15, 1795: ... A number of chiefs and 
warriors of the Miamis arrived at the garrison on the 
13th instant. Having informed them that I could 
do nothing with them, and that it was necessary for 
them to proceed to headquarters, finding it incon- 
venient for so many to go, they selected five who 
are going under charge of Lieutenant Massie, and 
perhaps will be accompanied by some warriors. 
The one whose name is Jean Baptiste Richard ville, 
is half white and a village chief of the nation. 

" As you are well acquainted with the original cause 
of the war with the Aborigines, I shall not say much 
upon it, except to observe that all the French traders, 
who were so many machines to the British agents, can 
be bought, and McKee, being then destitute of his 
satellites, will remain solus, with perhaps his few 
Shawanese, to make penance for his past iniquities. 



From 1 794-1 795 135 

"Since writing the foregoing, I have had a talk with 
the chiefs. I have shown them the necessity of with- 
drawing themselves from the headquarters of corrup- 
tion, and invited them to come and take possession 
of their former habitations [across the Maumee and 
St. Mary rivers from the garrison of Fort Wayne] 
which they have promised me to do. Richardville 
tells me, that as soon as he returns he will go on the 
Salamonie [River] on [near] the head of the Wabash, 
and there make a village. He has also promised me 
to open the navigation of the Wabash to the flag of 
the United States. 

"February 3rd: . . . Lieutenant Massey arrived on 
the 31st. The Indians also returned on the 29th in 
high spirits and very much pleased with their recep- 
tion by you [General Wayne] at headquarters. They 
assure me that they will absolutely make a lasting 
peace with the United States. 

"March ist: . . . I have now with me about forty 
Indians on a visit. They are Potawotamies, who live 
on Bear Creek [in the present Lenawee County, 
Michigan]. They say that as they are making peace 
with us, they will expect us to give them some corn 
to plant next spring. Indeed all the Aborigines who 
have been here have requested that I would inform 
Your Excellency of their miserable situation, and that 
they expect everything from you. 

"March 5: . . . A number of Potawotamie In- 
dians arrived here yesterday from Huron River, Michi- 
gan. They informed me that they were sent by their 
nation at that place, and by the Ottawas and Chippe- 
ways living on the same river, as also in the name of 
the Chippeways living on the Saginaw River which 
empties into Lake Huron, in order to join in the 



136 The Ohio Country 

good intention of the other Aborigines, by establish- 
ing a permanent peace with the United States. I 
informed them that I was not the first chief, and 
invited them to go to Greenville; to which they re- 
plied that it was rather a long journey, but from the 
great desire they had to see the Wind (for they called 
you so) they would go. I asked them for an explica- 
tion of your name. They told me that on the 20th 
August last, you were exactly like a whirlwind, 
which drives and tears everything before it. Mr. 
LeChauvre, a Frenchman, is a trader with them and 
has come as their interpreter. Father Burke con- 
tinues his exhortations. He assures the inhabitants 
that if any of them should be so destitute of every 
principle of honor and religion as to aid or advise 
the Indians to come to the Americans, they shall be 
anathematized. He is now a commissary and issues 
corn to the Aborigines. Mr. LeChauvre informs me 
that Burke is going, in the spring, to Michilimackinac. 
Of consequence we may easily judge of his mission. 
He will, no doubt, try to stop the nations from coming 
in to the treaty. How would it do to take him pris- 
oner? I think that it could be done very easily. 

"March 17: ... I had very great hopes that the 
man who deserted when on his post would have been 
made an example of; but weakness too often appears 
in the shape of lenity, for he was only sentenced to 
receive one hundred lashes, to be branded, and 
drummed out. This man, from his past conduct, 
was perfectly entitled to the gallows."^ 

« For additional letters from Colonel Hamtramck to Gen- 
eral Wayne regarding the winning of the Aborigines to peace, 
see Slocum's History of the Maumee River Basin, 



From 1 794-1 795 137 

The diplomacy and persistency of General 
Wayne and his agents were successful and January 
1 , 1 7 9 5 , he sent a message to the petitioning Wyan- 
dots at Sandusky that the chiefs of the Chippe- 
was, Ottawas, Sacs, Pottawotamis, and Miamis 
had arrived at Fort Wayne and would soon visit 
him at Greenville in the interest of peace. 

On January 24th, he reported to the Secretary 
of War that two preliminary articles of peace had 
been signed by him and the sachems and war 
chiefs of the Chippewas, Pottawotamis, Sacs, and 
Miamis. These preliminary articles provided that 
hostilities should cease; that there should be a 
meeting for council and treaty at Fort Greenville 
on or about June 15, 1795; that immediate infor- 
mation should be given to General Wayne of all 
hostile movements that came to the knowledge of 
any of the Aborigines ; and that the General was to 
reciprocate in their interest. 

Soon after this date, the Dela wares visited Fort 
Defiance and exchanged prisoners to the number 
of nine, this being all of the Aborigines then held 
at that place. John Brickell, from whom this in- 
formation was obtained, then fourteen years of age, 
had been captive with the Delawares four years, 
and on this occasion keenly felt the want of an- 
other Aborigine prisoner with the garrison, that he 



138 The Ohio Country 

also might be exchanged to return to his kinsfolk. 
In May, however, the Delawares again appeared 
across the Maumee River from Fort Defiance and 
discharged their guns in salute. The garrison of 
the fort returned the salute with a cannon shot 
for each State then in the Union. At this visit 
Brickell was surrendered to the garrison with 
some sentiment on the part of the Aborigines, 
and good fellowship prevailed. 

Wayne early prepared for the prospective large 
meeting of the Aborigines at Greenville for coun- 
cil, and for a treaty of peace. Ground was cleared, 
an ample Council House was soon built by his ex- 
perienced axemen that would protect from the 
sun or rain and yet be open at the sides for free 
ventilation. A large quantity of clothing and other 
useful articles for presents, and bountiful supplies 
of food, had been ordered from the East, and all 
were received in good time. 

About the ist of June a goodly number of Dela- 
ware, Ottawa, Pottawotami, and Eel River Abor- 
igines began to arrive, and all were well received. 
Others arrived each day, and, June i6th, the Gen- 
eral Council was opened, with good attendance. 
After smoking the Calumet of Peace, an oath of 
accuracy and fidelity was subscribed to by eight 
interpreters, and by Henry De Butts as secretary. 



From 1 794-1 795 139 

As presiding officer General Wayne stated the 
object of the Council, exhibited his commission 
received from President Washington, and put all 
present in good humor by his happy remarks, say- 
ing, in closing, "The heavens are bright, the roads 
are open; we will rest in peace and love, and wait 
the arrival of our brothers [referring to the tardy 
Aborigines who, at similar times, like sulky chil- 
dren desired to be sent for with special overtures]. 
We will on this happy occasion be merry without, 
however, passing the bounds of temperance and 
sobriety." 

Frequent arrivals of large numbers continued. 
The third day of July all were called together, and 
the General gave them their first lesson in Amer- 
ican patriotism. He explained to them why all 
the States of the American Union celebrated the 
Fourth of July each year, adding: 

"To-morrow we shall for the twentieth time salute 
the return of this happy anniversary, rendered still 
more dear by the brotherly union of the Americans 
and red people; to-morrow all the people within these 
lines will rejoice; you, my brothers, shall also rejoice 
in your respective encampments. I called you to- 
gether to explain these matters to you; do not, there- 
fore, be alarmed at the report of our big guns; they 
will do you no harm; they will be the harbingers of 
peace and gladness, and their roar will ascend into 
the heavens. The flag of the United States, and the 



I40 The Ohio Country 

colors of this legion, shall be given to the wind to be 
fanned by its gentlest breeze in honor of the birthday 
of American freedom. I will now show you our colors 
that you may know them to-morrow. Formerly they 
were displayed as ensigns of war and battle; now they 
will be exhibited as emblems of peace and happiness. 
This eagle which you now see, holds close his bunch 
of arrows whilst he seems to stretch forth, as a more 
valuable offering, the inestimable branch of peace. 
The Great Spirit seems disposed to incline us all to 
repose for the future under its grateful shade and 
wisely enjoy the blessings which attend it." 

Aborigines continued to arrive. On July i8th, 
a sachem, arriving with a band of Chippewas, said 
to the General, "We would have come in greater 
numbers but for Brant's endeavors to prevent us 
in interest of the British." 

With great thoughtfulness and circumspection, 
the text of the treaty had been drawn, and the 
General, by his cheerful yet serious and dignified 
demeanor, impressed all present to a careful con- 
sideration and assent to each of its provisions, 
separately. Notwithstanding the continued ar- 
rival of Aborigines, the business of the Council 
was continued day by day until its completion. 

The Report to the Secretary of War, August 9, 
1795, reads in part as follows: 

"It is with infinite pleasure I now inform you that 



From 1 794- 1 795 141 

a treaty of peace between the United States of 
America and all the late hostile tribes of Indians 
Northwest of the Ohio River, was unanimously and 
voluntarily agreed to, and cheerfully signed, by all 
the sachems and war chiefs of the respective nations 
on the 3rd, and exchanged on the yth instant." 

The number of Aborigines, and of tribes and 
bands, credited with being at the treaty, including 
very late arrivals, were: 

Tribes. Number. Sworn Interpreters. 

Wyandots i8o Isaac Zane and Abra- 
ham Williams. 

Delawares 381 Cabot Wilson. 

Sha-wnees 143 Jacques Lasselle and 

Christopher Miller. 

Ottawas 45 I M. Morans and Bt. 

Chippewas 46^ SansCrainte. 

Pottawotamis 240 ; 

Miamis and Eel Rivers . . 73 ) 

Weas and Piankishaws . . 1 2 >■ William Wells. 

Kickapoos and Kaskaskias . 10 ) 

Total, Twelve . . . .1130 Eight. 

A number of hostile Cherokees, who were linger- 
ing around the headwaters of the Scioto River, 
did not accept the invitations to the Council ; and 
on August 3d the General notified them of the 
treaty with all the other tribes, also of the treaty 
recently effected with their brethren in the South. 
He also notified them to accept immediately his 
last invitation to come to Greenville and enter 
into articles of peace or they would stand alone 



142 The Ohio Country 

and unprotected. Some of them accompanied 
"Captain Longhair," a principal Cherokee chief, 
and the messenger, to Fort Greenville, and soon 
thereafter accompanied the chief to their former 
home in the South. The others promised to hunt 
quietly along the Scioto River until their crops 
ripened, when they would return South to remain. 

The Aborigines were loth to leave Greenville, 
even after the General's eloquent farewell speech. 
Each of the more prominent chiefs desired to have 
the last word with the great warrior who had now 
pleased them exceedingly. 

Buckongehelas, the great chief of the Delawares, 
seemed to voice the sentiments of all when he said, 
in free and rounded translation: 

"Your children all well understand the sense of the 
treaty which is now concluded. We experience daily 
proofs of your increasing kindness. I hope we all 
may have sense enough to enjoy our dawning happi- 
ness. Many of your people are yet among us. I 
trust they will be immediately restored. Last 
winter our King [Tetebokshke] came forward to you 
with two, and when he returned with your speech 
to us, we immediately prepared to come forward with 
the remainder, which we delivered at Fort Defiance. 
All who know me, know me to be a man and a 
warrior, and I now declare that I will for the future be 
as true and steady a friend to the United States as I 
have heretofore been an active enemy. We have 



From 1 794- 1 795 143 

one bad man among us who, a few days ago, stole three 
of your horses; two of them shal) this day be returned 
to you, and I hope I shall be able to prevent that young 
man doing any more mischief to our Father the 
Fifteen Fires [States]." 

On September 9th between sixty and seventy 
refractory and hostile Shawnee warriors, led by 
Chief Pucksekaw or Jumper, arrived at Fort 
Greenville and wished to be included in the treaty. 
From the efforts of Chief Blue Jacket, they brought 
and surrendered four American captives, three of 
whom were taken in Randolph County, Virginia, 
July 13th of this year (1795). 

These being the last of the hostiles, General 
Wayne turned his attention to affairs best calcu- 
lated to make the treaty, and peace, permanent. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE WEST GAINS POSSESSION OF PART OF ITS 
RIGHTS 

Treaty with Spain Favorable to the West — Abandonment of 
Forts — British again Endeavor to Seduce the Aborigines 
of the United States — The Jay Treaty Favorable to the 
West — British Surrender American Forts — Death of 
General Wayne — Wayne County Organized — More 
French and Spanish Plots — Separation of the West from 
the East again Suggested — British Threaten Spanish 
Possessions in the South. 

nPHE United States concluded a treaty of friend- 
•'• ship, of limits, and of navigation with Spain, 
October 27, 1795. This treaty further allayed for 
a time the feeling of anxiety and unrest with some, 
of ambition with others, and contributed to the 
strengthening of the bond of union between the 
West ai;d the East. This was also a year of much 
migration from the East, with increase of settle- 
ments along the rivers of southern Ohio, other 
southern parts of the Northwest Territory, and 
south of the Ohio River. 

144 



From 1 795-1 798 145 

In January, 1796, General Wayne visited the 
seat of general government, General James Wil- 
kinson being given chief command of the North- 
western Army during his absence. Great courtesy 
and deference were shown Wayne upon his arrival 
in Philadelphia, and also upon his visit to his 
native county of Chester nearby. 

Early this summer Wayne's Forts Sandusky, 
St. Marys, Loramie, Piqua, and Jefferson were dis- 
mantled and abandoned, leaving seven others be- 
side those yet held by the British, possession of 
which he hoped soon to obtain. 

The British agents again succeeded in arousing 
dissatisfaction among some of the Aborigines, and 
called a council with them for June, 1796, near 
their Fort Miami. To counteract these influences. 
General Wilkinson invited some of the chiefs to 
visit him, and, later, he sent Colonel Hamtramck 
down the Maumee River with a detachment of 
troops for the purpose of being near those Aborig- 
ines who might attend the council. On June 8th 
and 1 6th, Hamtramck reported from Camp De- 
posit at Roche de Bout that: 

" I arrived at this place the day before yesterday 
and have been waiting the result of the Aborigine 
council at the Miamis fort. It would appear that 
they are divided in their opinions. White Cap, the 



146 The Ohio Country 

principal Shawanese chief, wants to alarm the Abor- 
igines, but I am in hopes that he will not succeed. 
Blue Jacket is with me, and says he will remain until 
your arrival. Yesterday some of their chiefs and 
young men were with me, and assured me of their 
good intentions toward us. How far this can be 
depended upon time will determine. . . . 

"June 16: . . . Two of my men deserted on the 
14th inst. I sent my interpreter and an Aborigine after 
them. They brought them back last night. I wish 
they had brought their scalps for I know not what to 
do with them. Could I have power, at times, to call 
a general court martial for the trial of deserters, it 
would save a great deal of time. " 

Evidently the efforts of the British to regain 
their lost prestige with the Aborigines by this 
council did not meet with success. 

The United States Special Minister to Great 
Britain, John Jay, concluded a treaty, November 
19,1794, which was much disliked by many Amer- 
icans ; but which was favorable to the peace of the 
Northwest Territory, inasmuch as one of its pro- 
visions was for the British abandonment of their 
military posts on American soil on or before the 
ist of June, 1796. This treaty was proclaimed as 
a law by the President, March i, 1796. 

On May 27th General Wilkinson sent Captain 
Schaumberg, his aide-de-camp, to Detroit, to de- 
mand of Colonel England the evacuation of the 



From 1 795- 1 798 147 

forts subject to his orders — Fort Lernoult at De- 
troit, Fort Miami near the foot of the Maumee 
Rapids, and Fort MichiHmackinac ; but the Colo- 
nel had not received orders to do so from his 
superior of^cer, and could not comply with the 
demand. The British, however, had been building 
a fort at Maiden, near Captain Matthew Elliott's 
estate, and at the present Amherstburg, on the left 
bank and near the mouth of the Detroit River or 
Strait. 

The first of June having passed without a move- 
ment of the British to vacate the forts, the Secre- 
tary of War, with General Wayne as councillor, 
decided to make one more formal demand for 
their compliance with the late Jay Treaty. Ac- 
cordingly Captain Lewis was sent from Philadel- 
phia direct to Lord Dorchester, Governor of 
Canada. This demand from headquarters was 
received with civility, and orders were given the 
Captain, commanding the officers in charge of the 
forts, east and west, to vacate them to 



..." such officer belonging to the forces of the 
United States as shall produce this authority to you 
for that purpose, who shall precede the troops destined 
to garrison it by one day, in order that he may have 
time to view the nature and condition of the works 
and buildings. . . ." 



148 The Ohio Country 

Upon his return Captain Lewis handed the or- 
ders for the eastern forts to Captain Bruff at Al- 
bany, New York, and those for the western ones 
to General Wayne in Philadelphia, who immedi- 
ately dispatched them to General Wilkinson at 
Greenville, and he, in turn, sent them to Colonel 
Hamtramck, who also acted with promptness. 
Fort Miami was evacuated July nth, and was at 
once garrisoned by Captain Marschalk and his 
command. Fort Lernoult at Detroit was also 
evacuated the same day, and was immediately 
occupied by Captain Moses Porter, and, after two 
days, by Colonel Hamtramck with a considerable 
garrison. 

Thus was possessed, after a further struggle of 
thirteen years by the young Republic with the 
loss of much blood, what Great Britain was obli- 
gated to at once surrender at the close of the 
Revolutionary War, according to the Treaty of 
Paris in 1783. 

During the summer of 1796 there was great 
scarcity of provisions at Detroit for the three 
hundred American soldiers, as well as for the large 
number of Aborigines who from habit continued 
to gather there. Samuel Henley, Acting Quarter- 
master, went southward to hasten forward sup- 
plies by way of the Ohio River to Fort Washington. 



From 1 795-1 798 149 

He wrote, on August 13th, to General Williams, 
Quartermaster-General, at Detroit, that: 

"The Commissary General gave thirty dollars 
for the transportation of one barrel of flour from Fort 
Washington to Fort Wayne. ^ . . . I am well convinced 
that our public wagonmasters are a poor set of 
drunken men. " 

General Wayne, on his return from Philadel- 
phia, arrived at Detroit August 13, 1796, prob- 
ably by the sloop Detroit from Presque Isle, the 
present Erie, Pennsylvania. He was received with 
demonstrations of great joy by all persons, in- 
cluding the twelve hundred Aborigines there as- 
sembled according to the habit formed by the 
teachings of the British. He remained at Detroit 
until November 17th, when he again started for 
Philadelphia on a small sloop. On this voyage 
over Lake Erie his system was much irritated and 
fatigued by the tossings of the storms, and the 
disease from which he had for some time suffered 
(understood as gout) made great progress. It 
could not be allayed after his arrival at Fort 
Presque Isle, and he there died December 15, 1796, 

> The form of money most in use here at this time was 
"York Currency" issued by the Provincial Congress, New 
York. A few Spanish silver dollars were in circulation, and 
they were the most valuable of all money seen, being rated at 
ten shillings each. 



ISO The Ohio Country 

aged fifty-one years, eleven months, and fourteen 
days. 1 

General Wayne served his country well, and 
with much patriotic fervor. He was a thorough 
disciplinarian, brave, impetuous, and irresistible 
in battle; and was successful in inspiring his sol- 
diers at will with these requisites. He was also 
thoughtful and conservative in planning and 
equally successful in strategy and assault, as dem- 
onstrated on different battle-fields, north and 
south, during the Revolutionary War. These 
characteristics were prominent also during his 
wilderness campaign west of the Allegheny Moun- 
tains; and the success and value of this campaign 
were equalled only by the success and value of 
his diplomacy in drawing the Savages to Fort 
Greenville the next year, away from the British, 
and to the most important of treaties. These last, 
and greatest, acts of his life should ever be re- 
spected as invaluable to his countrymen inasmuch 
as they settled, favorably to the Union, the first 
very grave crisis attending the country west of 
the Allegheny Mountains. 

» In 1809 his son Colonel Isaac Wayne removed his re- 
mains from Presque Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania) to his early 
' home at Radnor, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where the 
Society of [the Cincinnati of this State erected a modest 
--^ marble monument to mark his grave. 



From 1 795-1 798 151 

On the 15th of August, 1796, Winthrop Sargent, 
Secretary of the Northwestern Territory, pro- 
claimed at Detroit the organization of Wayne 
County, which included, in addition to the present 
State of Michigan, the country west of the Cuya- 
hoga River and north of a line extending from 
Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the south part of Lake 
Michigan, thence in a northwesterly direction to 
embrace the Aborigine settlements on the western 
borders of this lake and its bays. 

Thus was brought under the jurisdiction of the 
United States for the first time this extensive and 
important country which previously had been (ex- 
cepting the limited influence of General Wayne's 
forts) actually under the jurisdiction of County 
Kent organized in Canada in 1792; but during 
this time, as previously, it was practically sub- 
ject to the commandant of the garrison at Detroit, 
regardless of the Treaty of Paris. The United 
States Congress contributed to this lamentable 
condition by its weak efforts for protection ; from 
the trade considerations of some of its members, 
and, as previously mentioned, from the opinion of 
many that this invaluable region could not be gov- 
erned from so great distance from New York or 
Philadelphia. 

The United States, with their western terri- 



152 The Ohio Country 

tories, were, however, not yet free from trouble. 
The Jay Treaty with Great Britain was considered 
by France as an alteration and suspension of her 
treaty of 1778 with the United States; and on 
August 19, 1796, a treaty of alliance, offensive 
and defensive, was concluded between France and 
Spain. This at once led to some overt acts by 
France against the United States on the high seas 
and to agents of Spain and France again becoming 
active to alienate these Northwestern and South- 
western Territories from the East. The idea of a 
Western Confederacy was again advocated by a 
few persons in Kentucky. 

There was again sent northward from the Span- 
ish Governor-General of Louisiana a special emis- 
sary in the person of Thomas Power, a versatile 
Irishman possessing a practical knowledge of the 
English, French, and Spanish languages, who had 
previously been in Kentucky and in the Ohio 
settlements to advance the interests of Spain in 
the Mississippi Basin. In June, 1797, he again 
proceeded to Kentucky and addressed influential 
persons on proposals that were, "in the present 
uncertain and critical attitude of politics, highly 
imprudent and dangerous to lay before them on 
paper," but which were, in effect, that if they 
would "immediately exert all their influence in 



From 1795-1798 153 

impressing on the minds of the inhabitants of 
the western country a conviction of the neces- 
sity of their withdrawing and separating them- 
selves from the Federal Union, and forming an 
independent government wholly independent of 
that of the Atlantic States," they would be well 
rewarded. 

"If a hundred thousand dollars distributed in 
Kentucky would cause it to rise in insurrection, I 
am certain that the minister, in the present circum- 
stances, would sacrifice them with pleasure; and you 
may, without exposing yourself too much, promise 
them to those who enjoy the confidence of the people, 
with another sum, in case of necessity; and twenty 
pieces of field artillery. " 

The Spanish forts in American territory by the 
Mississippi had not been surrendered to the 
United States according to the treaty of 1795; 
and it was reported to the Secretary of State by 
Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Northwest 
Territory, June 3, 1797, that General Howard, an 
Irishman commissioned by Spain as Commander- 
in-Chief, had arrived at St. Louis with upwards of 
three hundred men, and begun the erection of a 
formidable fort; that a large party of Aborigines 
(Dela wares) on their way to reinforce the Spaniards 
had passed down the White River, tributary of the 



154 The Ohio Country 

Wabash, the first week in May bearing a Spanish 
flag. Further, that the Spanish had, on the Mis- 
sissippi above the mouth of the Ohio, several 
galley boats with cannon. 

Thomas Power also traversed the Maumee Val- 
ley in August, on his way to Detroit to meet Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, General Wayne's successor, and 
other influential men. He was accompanied, or 
soon followed, by the agents of France, Victor de 
Collot and M. Warin, who sketched maps of the 
rivers and country. In a letter from Detroit to 
Captain Robert Buntin at Vincennes, dated Sep- 
tember 4, 1797, Wilkinson mentions having re- 
ceived a letter from the Spanish Governor, 

"stating a variety of frivolous reasons for not de- 
livering the [American] posts, and begs that no more 
troops be sent down the Mississippi. I have put 
aside all his exceptions, and have called on him in 
the most solemn manner to fulfill the treaty. . . . 
Although Mr. Power has brought me this letter it 
is possible it might be a mask to other purposes; I 
have therefore, for his accommodation and safety, 
put him in care of Captain Shaumburgh who will 
see him safe to New Madrid by the most direct route. 
I pray you to continue your vigilance, and give me 
all the information in your power. " 

France refused to receive the American Minister 
and permitted many unwise acts of her citizens 



From 1795-1798 155 

while the government instigated others. Congress 
also was now deeply stirred to action, and adopted 
measures of defence and retaliation; authorizing 
the formation of a provisional army, about twelve 
regiments of which were to gather at Fort Washing- 
ton where boats were to be built to transport 
them down the Mississippi; commercial inter- 
course with France was suspended; an act was 
passed for the punishment of alien and secret en- 
emies of the United States; and for the punish- 
ment of treason and sedition. These prompt 
actions allayed the gathering storm. 

The Spaniards of the Mississippi feared an in- 
vasion by the British, and President John Adams 
ordered General Wilkinson on February 4.1798, to 
oppose all who should presume to attempt a vio- 
lation of the laws of the territory of the United 
States by an expedition through it against their 
enemies. This implied that the British had de- 
signs on the Spanish colony, by way of the Mau- 
mee River or the Illinois. 



CHAPTER XIII 

ADVANCEMENT OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND 
EXTENSION OF THE WEST 

Mississippi Territory Organized — General Washington again 
at the Head of the Federal Army — Spanish Surrender 
their Forts in United States Territory — First Legislature 
of Northwestern Territory Convenes — Indiana Terri- 
tory Organized — Public Lands — Connecticut Cedes her 
Claims to the United States — Religious Missionaries — 
Population — Continued British Usurpations — Evidences 
of the Rising Power of the United States — Treaty with 
France — Louisiana Territory Purchased — Development 
of Communication — Military Posts — Ohio Admitted as 
a State — The Aborigines — Additional Treaties with 
them — Fort Industry Built — Michigan Territory Organ- 
ized — Aaron Burr's Last Scheme. 

nPHE Territory of Mississippi was formed by 
•*■ Congress April 7, 1798, and Winthrop 
Sargent was nominated and approved as its 
Governor. The vacancy of Secretary of the 
Northwestern Territory thus made, was filled 
June 26th by the appointment of William H. 
Harrison, a competent and rising young man. 

156 



From 1 798- 1 807 157 

Ex- President Washington, July 2, 1798, was 
chosen Lieutenant-General and Commander-in- 
Chief of the armies raised and to be raised for the 
service. There was little to be done, however, 
that he could not readily delegate to his sub- 
ordinates. 

During this summer, the Spanish vacated their 
forts on American territory, and, the 5th of 
October, General Wilkinson took up headquarters 
at Loftus Heights, where Fort Adams was soon 
built, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi about 
six miles north of the 31st degree of north lati- 
tude, the then dividing line between the United 
States and Spanish territory. The prompt action 
of the United States against intriguers and possi- 
ble emergencies west of the Alleghenies showed 
renewed interest in this region, and a spasmodic 
readiness for its protection, and the danger 
threatening it was again obviated for a time. 

The first Legislature for the Northwestern Terri- 
tory convened in 1799; and William H. Harrison 
was chosen the first Delegate, or Representative, 
of this Territory to the United States Congress. 

The difficulties attending the organization and 
maintenance of government for a vast extent of 
country, remote from officers and the seat of 
government, had long been felt, and now became 



158 The Ohio Country 

the subject of inquiry by Congress. A committee 
reported March 3, 1800, that: 

"In the three western counties [each then equal 
in size to a present State] of the Northwest Territory 
there had been but one court having cognizance of 
crimes in five years; and the immunity which offenders 
experience, attracts as to an asylum the most vile 
and abandoned criminals, and at the same time 
deters useful and virtuous persons from making 
settlements in such society." 

Thereupon provisions were made for the 
organization of Indiana Territory. William H. 
Harrison was appointed its Governor, and the 
Ordinance of 1787 was to apply for its government. 

Four Public Land Offices were established in 
Ohio Territory, May 10, 1800. The desirabihty 
of the United States patent for settlers' lands 
and more compactness of jurisdiction became 
more apparent to settlers in Connecticut's Western 
Reserve. Early in the year 1800, the seekers of 
homes therein numbered about one thousand, 
mostly near Lake Erie. On May 30th, the Con- 
necticut Assembly transfen^ed all their claimed 
rights of jurisdiction to the United States, which 
action placed all of Ohio Territory upon a uniform 
land-title basis. This further conduced to the 
increase in the former Connecticut Reserve of 



From 1 798-1807 159 

settlements, which now extended westward, and 
occupied the eastern part of lands of the Abo- 
rigines, they receiving payment therefor from the 
Connecticut Land Company. 

Civil organizations ensued; and the second 
Protestant religious missionary in northern Ohio 
was sent by the Connecticut Missionary Society 
to this region during the latter part of the year 
1800. He found, however, no township containing 
more than eleven families. 

Near the close of the year 1796, the number of 
white people within the present limits of Ohio 
was recorded as about five thousand, mostly 
settled along the Ohio River and its tributaries 
within fifty miles. The second United States 
Census, for the year 1800, showed the population 
of Ohio Territory, the jurisdiction of which then 
included what is now eastern Michigan, to be 

45.365- 

The commandant of the British garrison, after 
its removal from Detroit to its new Fort Maiden, 
in 1796, continued to ignore the line of United 
States territory, detachments of soldiers being 
sent across it at the pleasure of the officials. As 
late as October 20, 1800, one of the British 
officers went to Detroit, broke into a private 
house, and arrested Francis Poquette, using such 



i6o The Ohio Country 

violence that the victim soon died of the injuries 
he then received. The British also endeavored 
to retain their former influence over the American 
Aborigines. 

The rising power of the United States was ap- 
parent, however, in the organization, develop- 
ment, and control of this western country. The 
courage and promptitude more recently exhibited 
by the government in meeting the many in- 
trigues and aggressions of the Aborigines, the 
French, Spanish, and of the unduly ambitious 
Americans, had allayed visionary and chimerical 
schemes, and given impetus and more stability to 
the western settlements. 

The threatened war with France was happily 
allayed, and, September 30th, 1800, a treaty with 
that power was consummated. The ambitions 
held by Spain for a number of years to possess 
this region were also defeated, and on October 
ist, 1800, she secretly ceded Louisiana back to 
France after an ownership of thirty-eight years. 

Nor did Napoleon's idea of a New France pre- 
vail; but rather that wise decision of President 
Jefferson and Congress for the purchase by the 
United States, April 30, 1803, of that vast do- 
main styled the Louisiana Purchase. Thus was 
removed by one master act all objections to 



From 1 798-1 807 161 

Americans navigating the Mississippi River and 
trading throughout its course. This purchase also 
quieted the long-continued agitations, both do- 
mestic and foreign, for a western republic, in- 
tended by its instigators as an easier means for 
foreign possession of the country. ^ 

Attention was now given to roads, that is the 
cutting of roadways; to post-offices, and to better 
means of communication. 

In the United States "Estimate of all Posts 
and Stations where Garrisons will be expedient, 
and of the Number of Men requisite," made 
December 3, 1801, but three military posts were 
mentioned for the territory northwest of the Ohio 
River, viz. : Michilimackinac, one company of 
artillery and one of infantry; Detroit, one com- 
pany of artillery and four of infantry; Fort 

' Eastern legislators, remnants of the Federalists, who were 
lukewarm about, or opposed to, protecting the Ohio Country, 
and at times even in favor of giving it away, were much ex- 
cited by the suggestion of purchasing Louisiana. Plumer, 
of New Hampshire, warned the Senate in this wise: "Admit 
this western world into the Union, and you destroy at once 
the weight and importance of the eastern States, and compel 
them to establish a separate independent empire. " Griswold, 
of Connecticut, argued in the House that "The vast un- 
manageable extent which the accession of Louisiana will 
give to the United States, the consequent dispersion of our 
population, and the distribution of the balance which it is so 
important to maintain between the eastern and western 
States, threatens, at no very distant day, the subversion of 
our Union. " 



i62 The Ohio Country 

Wayne, one company of infantry. In the Act 
of Congress, March, 1802, for Reduction of the 
Army, Fort Wayne was styled a "frontier post 
with garrison of sixty-four men." In the year 
1803 this fort had garrison of fifty-one men, viz. : 
one captain, one surgeon's mate, one first and 
one second Heutenant, one ensign, four sergeants, 
four corporals, three musicians, and thirty-five 
privates. 

Since the opinion on March 4, 1802, was that 
Ohio Territory contained a population of at least 
sixty thousand people, and the Congressional 
Committee on this Territory having reported 
favorably, Congress, April 30th, voted to call a con- 
vention of representatives of the Territory meeting 
November ist, to frame a Constitution for the 
proposed State of Ohio. The Constitution was 
agreed upon and signed with commendable 
promptness, being completed November 29th; 
and on February 19, 1803, Ohio was admitted 
to the Union as a State, the fourth under the 
general Constitution, and the seventeenth in 
general number. 

After the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, the 
Aborigines, for a short time, remained reasonably 
contented with the United States annuity pay- 
ments to them, and with the amount they received 



From 1 798-1807 163 

for the peltries obtained by their hunting and 
trapping. They also received many gratuities 
from the white settlers among whom they wan- 
dered, entering dwellings at will and without 
ceremony; and they were generally treated with 
kindly consideration by the white people not- 
withstanding their want of regard for individual 
rights in property desired by them. It became 
more and more apparent, however, that British 
influence was yet being exerted among them and 
causing discontent to be fostered among the 
several tribes, notwithstanding their continued 
trading of furs to the British, and their spending 
the money received from the United States freely 
with them. 

Governor Harrison, who was also Superin- 
tendent of Aborigine Affairs for Indiana Ten4- 
tory, completed at Fort Wayne, June 7, 1803, the 
treaty that was begun September 17, 1802, at 
Vincennes, in which the Eel River, Kaskaskia, 
Kickapoo, Miami, Piankishaw, Pottawotami, and 
Wea tribes formally deeded to the United States 
the lands around Vincennes which had previously 
been bought of the other tribes; and this act 
was further confirmed at Vincennes the 7th of 
August by yet other chiefs. On August 13th 
the Illinois tribes deeded to the United States 



164 The Ohio Country 

a large portion of the country south and east 
of the Illinois River. 

On August 13, 1804, Governor Harrison pur- 
chased for the United States the claims of the 
Delawares to the land between the Wabash and 
Ohio rivers. He also purchased of the Pianki- 
shaws their claims to lands deeded to the United 
States by the Kaskaskias in 1803. Also by treaty 
and purchase, the claims of the several tribes to 
large areas of lands farther west were extinguished. 

Fort Industry was built in 1804 on the left 
bank of the lower Maumee River, at the mouth of 
Swan Creek, for protection in various ways, and 
for the convenience of the commissioners who, 
July 4, 1805, there effected an important treaty 
with the chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, 
Ottawa, Chippewa, Munsee, Delaware, Shawnee, 
and Pottawotami tribes, and those of the Shaw- 
nees and Senecas who lived with the Wyandots 
at this time, all of whom ceded to the United 
States their entire claims to the Western Reserve 
of Connecticut, for, and in consideration of, an 
annuity of one thousand dollars, in addition to 
sixteen thousand dollars paid to them by the 
Connecticut Land Company and the proprietors 
of the half million acres of Sufferers' Lands (Fire- 
lands, lands granted to those who suffered by lire 



From 1 798-1807 165 

in Connecticut by acts of the British during the 
Revolutionary War). The small stockade com- 
posing Fort Industry was abandoned by the 
United States soon after this treaty. 

Further, a treaty with, and an annuity to, the 
dissatisfied Pottawotami, Miami, Eel River, and 
Wea Aborigines near Vincennes, August 21, 1805, 
induced them to relinquish their claims to the 
southeastern part of Indiana, which was also 
bought from the Delawares by the United States 
on August 18, 1804. These several treaties and 
purchases, of 1803, '04, '05, including yet another 
with the Piankishaws on December 30, 1805, 
extinguished several times over all alleged right 
of claim to these lands by the Aborigines, not to 
mention in this connection the purchases and 
payments of the eighteenth century. 

Michigan was organized into a separate Terri- 
tory by Congress January 11, 1805, the new 
government to go into effect June 30th. General 
William Hull was appointed its Governor. 

Aaron Burr journeyed, and rejoumeyed, through 
the West and Southwest during the years 1805 and 
1806, and rumors became rife of his preparations 
to in>^de and conquer Mexico, and to create a 
western republic of which the country west of the 
Allegheny Mountains was to form a part. The 



1 66 The Ohio Country 

Legislature of Ohio ordered, the first part of 
December, 1806, the seizure of fourteen boats and 
supplies at Marietta, on the Ohio River, which 
were about ready to start down the rivers in aid 
of Burr's scheme. Burr was arrested January 
17, 1807, and was released on bail, which he 
forfeited. He was again arrested while endeavor- 
ing to escape, was subjected to trial at Richmond, 
Virginia, and was acquitted. Thus failed the 
fourth and weakest effort to wrest this western 
region from the United States. 

During these years of scheming by restless, 
designing persons, and of apprehension by the 
government, there was considerable strengthen- 
ing by the United States of the garrisons of Forts 
Washington, Wayne, and Detroit; and prepara- 
tions were made for their active service. The 
increasing aggressions of the British, and the 
conduct of Aaron Burr, were reasons for this 
military activity. 



CHAPTER XIV 

CONSPIRACY OF THE BRITISH, TECUMSEH, AND THE 
PROPHET 

Further Treaties with, and Payments to, the Aborigines 
— The British Continue Meddlesome — Reservations — ■ 
United States Settlers by the Lower Maumee River — 
Land for Highways Treated for — Illinois Territory 
Organized — Another British-Savage Trouble Gathering 
— Trading Posts for the Aborigines Established — Re- 
ports of Gathering Trouble from United States Military 
Posts — The British Continue to Trade Intoxicating 
Liquors to American Aborigines in Opposition to Law. 

/^^N January 27, 1807, Henry Dearborn, Secre- 
^-^ tary of War, sent a commission to William 
Hull, Governor of Michigan Territory, and Super- 
intendent of Aborigine Affairs there, with instruc- 
tions to hold a treaty council with the Aborigines, 
who were becoming very restless and aggressive. 
Governor Hull issued a call to the different tribes 
for a council at Detroit ; but the Aborigines did 
not attend. Two other calls were sent to them, 
and President Jefferson directed him to com- 

167 



1 68 The Ohio Country 

municate to them the continued friendly inten- 
tions and offices of the United States. The sequel 
proved that their desires to respond to the invita- 
tions to council had been thwarted by Captain 
Alexander McKee, the British agent. Finally, 
they evaded McKee and his aids, and went to 
Detroit for council, in which they proclaimed the 
intrigue of the British to again more closely ally 
them to their aid "for the war likely to ensue 
with the United States." 

Between seven and eight hundred Aborigines 
had been invited to Maiden, now Amherstburg, 
where intoxicating beverages and promises pre- 
vailed. During October and November many 
hundreds of these Aborigines were unavoidably 
fed at Detroit by Governor Hull, while on their 
way to and from the British Fort Maiden in- 
fluence, and also during the council, notwith- 
standing the direction of the Secretary of War, 
that from fifty to one hundred was as great a 
number as ought to be allowed to attend. 

A prominent feature of this council with Gover- 
nor Hull, and one that was remembered and 
repeated by the Aborigines, was the expression of 
President Jefferson that the Aborigines should 
remain quiet spectators and not participate in 
the quarrels of others, particularly those of the 



From 1 807- 1 809 169 

white people; and that the United States was 
strong enough to fight its own battles; and 
that it was evidence of weakness on the part of 
any people to want the aid of the Aborigines. 

Finally, at Detroit, November 17, 1807, a 
treaty was effected with the Chippewa, Ottawa, 
Pottawotami, and Wyandot tribes in which they 
deeded to the United States all their claims to 
the country north of the middle of the Maumee 
River, from its mouth in Maumee Bay and Lake 
Erie, to the mouth of the Auglaize River; thence 
extending north to the latitude of the south part 
of Lake Huron, thence east to and southward 
along the Canadian boundary. For their claim 
to this territory, as in all former treaties and 
transfers, they were well paid, receiving ten 
thousand dollars in money and goods as first pay- 
ment, and were to receive an annuity of two 
thousand and four hundred dollars. They were 
given, also, the option of money, goods, imple- 
ments of husbandry, and domestic animals, from 
which to choose. Of these sums the Chippewas 
received one third, the Ottawas one third, and 
the Pottawotamis and Wyandots each one sixth. 
This treaty further informed them that 

"the United States, to manifest their liberality, and 
disposition to encourage the said Aborigines in agri- 



lyo The Ohio Country 

culture, further stipulate to furnish the said Aborig- 
ines with two blacksmiths during the term of ten 
years, one to reside with the Chippewas at Saginaw, 
and the other to reside with the Ottawas at the 
Maumee [presumably at the mouth of the Auglaize]. 
Said blacksmiths are to do such work for the said 
nations as shall be most useful to them." 

The principal object of this treaty and purchase 
was to keep the Aborigines as far from the British 
as possible. As in former treaties, however, 
the Aborigines were to have the privilege of 
hunting for game animals on the ceded lands 
as long as the lands remained the distinctive 
property of the United States, and during the 
good behavior of the Aborigines. 

Certain tracts of this land were also reserved 
for the exclusive use of certain prominent Aborig- 
ines, viz. : Six miles square on the north bank of 
the Maumee above Roche de Bout "to include 
the village where Tondagame [Tontogany], or the 
dog, now lives " (probably near the present Grand 
Rapids, Ohio). Another reservation for them 
was ^ 

"three miles square above the twelve miles square 
ceded to the United States at the Treaty of Green- 
ville, including what is called Presque Isle [on left 
bank of Maumee River below the present Waterville]; 
also four miles square on the Miami [Maumee] Bay, 



From 1 807- 1 809 171 

including the villages where Meshkemau and Waugau 
now live. ... It is further understood and agreed, 
that whenever the reservations cannot conveniently 
be laid out in squares, they shall be laid out in parallel- 
ograms or other figures as found most practicable and 
convenient, so as to obtain the area specified in miles; 
and in all cases they are to be located in such manner 
and in such situations as not to interfere with any 
improvements of the French or other white people, 
or any former cession." 

American settlers continued to gather in Ohio, 
and some took residence on these United States 
Reservations at the Foot of the Rapids of the 
Maumee. The necessity for roads to connect the 
settlements in Ohio with those in Michigan be- 
coming more apparent, Governor Hull was directed 
to secure cession of lands for such roads from the 
Aborigines. Accordingly, at Brownstown, Michi- 
gan, November 25, 1808, a treaty was held with 
the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Chippewa, 
Ottawa, Pottawotami, Shawnee, and Wyandot 
tribes, in which they quit-claimed a tract of land, 
one hundred and twenty feet in width, for a road 
from the foot of the lowest rapids of the Maumee 
River eastward to the western line of the Con- 
necticut Reserve; also all the land within one 
mile of each side of this roadway for the settlement 
of white people: 



172 The Ohio Country 

"Also a tract of land for road only, of one hundred 
and twenty feet in width to run southwardly from 
what is called Lower Sandusky [now Fremont, Ohio] 
to the boundary line established by the Treaty of 
Greenville; with the privilege of taking, at all times, 
such timber and other materials from the adjacent 
lands as may be necessary for making and keeping in 
repair the said road, with the bridges that may be 
required along the same." 

No compensation was given the Aborigines in 
money or merchandise for these roadways, as 
"they were desirable and beneficial to the Abo- 
rigine nations as well as to the United States," 
reads a clause in the deed of quit-claim. 

Indiana Territory, from its organization in 
1802, had extended to the Mississippi River. 
The settlements had increased to such numbers, 
however, that the "Illinois Country" was or- 
ganized into Illinois Territory, February 3, 1809. 

For several years, the Aborigines had mani- 
fested an increasing restlessness, which was 
attributed by Captain Dunham and other Ameri- 
can officers to the influence of the British who 
were trading among them, and those at Fort 
Maiden where they received supplies. 

The idea first taught to the Savages by the 
early French, in opposition to the British, first 
exploited by Pontiac in 1763 against the British, 



From 1 807- 1 809 173 

and then amplified with greater force by the 
British among the Savages against the Americans 
from the beginning of the Revolutionary War — 
of a confederation of all the tribes, and that all 
lands should be claimed by them collectively, 
and that no claims should be disposed of, nor 
any advance of the Americans upon the lands be 
permitted — was being revived, and again urged 
before the Aborigines by the British and a few 
Frenchmen in their interest. In 1805 Tecumseh, 
an energetic Shawnee brave, began therefrom to 
repeat the history of Pontiac, the Americans 
being the people conspired against. 

The increasing purchases of claims by the 
United States were for the purpose of getting the 
Aborigines farther from British influence, and 
getting American settlers between them and the 
British, The object of getting the Aborigines on 
small tracts of land was that they might be led 
away from their roaming, hunting habits, and 
thereby be easier led to agricultural pursuits, and 
into closer sympathy with Americans; but these 
worthy objects and acts in their interests were 
reacting against the Americans. 

With the rapid increase of settlers on the lands 
purchased, and their beginning to clear away the 
forest; the organization of territories, states, and 



174 The Ohio Country 

counties, with their courts and closer govern- 
ment, came the exciting of apprehension among 
the lawless traders, agents, and loungers in the 
camps of the Aborigines, the chronically meddle- 
some British, from trade interests at least, inciting 
them to renewed intrigues. 

Tecumseh's reputed brother Elskwatawa had 
recently removed with other Shawnees from the 
Scioto River, Ohio, to the Tippecanoe River, 
Indiana, where he soon gained something of a 
notoriety as a sorcerer. He began to tell of his 
dreams and visions, and to claim the knowledge 
and power of a prophet inspired and commissioned 
by the Great Spirit to lead the Aborigines back 
to the condition of their ancestors before the 
coming of the Americans. All of this chicanery 
forcibly appealed to the younger Aborigines and 
warriors, who were ever ready to embrace any 
superstition or act offering exploitation. The 
remarkable pretensions of Elskwatawa spread 
from the Shawnee town by the Tippecanoe River 
to other and distant tribes, being carried by 
runners, including Tecumseh, who travelled rapidly 
from tribe to tribe between Lake Erie and the 
Mississippi River, and from the upper lakes to 
the Gulf of Mexico. 

These actions of Tecumseh, the "Prophet," 



From 1 807- 1 809 175 

and many of the younger Aborigines who were 
anxious for any new movement promising excite- 
ment, were understood by Governor Harrison as 
a concerted effort to marshal the Aborigines as 
British allies again against the United States. 

Since the campaign of General Wayne a new 
generation of young Aborigines, fed from the 
rations supplied to their parents by the United 
States, had developed into warriors anxious for 
excitement and ready at short notice to follow 
any leader whose project appeared probable to 
gratify their savage impulses. 

Letters were soon received by the Secretary of 
War, from the several military posts throughout 
the western country, regarding the increasing 
hostility of the Aborigines, and their threatenings 
to exterminate Americans, also of their being 
aided by the British. 

General Wilham Clark wrote from St. Louis, 
April 5, 1809, that the "Prophet's emissaries" 
had been industriously employed, during the 
latter part of the winter and spring, privately 
councilling with, and attempting to seduce to war 
against the frontier settlements, the Kickapoos, 
Saukeys, and other bands by the Mississippi and 
Blinois rivers. 

Captain William Wells wrote from Fort Wayne, 



i^d The Ohio Country 

the 8th of April, that the Aborigines appeared to 
be agitated respecting the conduct, and as they 
said the intentions, of the Shawnee Prophet. 

"The Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawotamis are 
hurrying away from him, and say that their reason 
for so doing is because he has told them to receive the 
tomahawk from him and destroy all the white people 
at Vincennes and Ohio, as low down as the mouth of 
the Ohio and as high up as Cincinnati; that the Great 
Spirit had directed that they should do so, at the same 
time threatening them with destruction if they re- 
fused to comply with what he proposed." 

General Clark wrote from St. Louis, April 30th: 

"I have the honor to enclose you a copy of a letter 
which confirms my suspicions of the British inter- 
ference with our Indian affairs in this country. The 
following is an extract from the letter from Boilvin: 
' . . . I am at present in the fire receiving Aborigine 
news every day. A chief of the Puant nation appears 
to be employed by the British to get all the nations 
of Aborigines to Maiden to see their fathers the 
British, who tell them that they pity them in their 
situation with the Americans, because the Amer- 
icans had taken their lands and their game; that 
they must join and send them off from their lands. 
They said they had but one father that had helped 
them in their misfortunes, and that they should 
assemble, defend their father, and keep their lands.' 
It appears that four English subjects have been at 
Riviere a la Roche this winter in disguise ; they have 



From 1 807-1 809 177 

been there to get the nations together and send them 
on the American frontiers. " 

Governor Harrison wrote from Vincennes, May 
3, 1809, of his "decided opinion that the Prophet 
will attack our settlements. About eight days 
ago he had with him about three hundred and 
fifty warriors well armed with rifles; they have 
also bows and arrows, war clubs, and a kind of 
spear." 

The Factor (Agent) of the American Trading 
Post at Sandusky, S. Tupper, wrote, June 7th, 
that, "the conduct of the British traders in intro- 
ducing spirituous liquors among the Aborigines 
in this part of the country, and their determined 
hostility to the measures of our Government, 
have long been subjects of complaint; and their 
infamous stories have embarrassed our opera- 
tions." 

Governor Hull wrote from Detroit, June i6th, 
that, "the influence of the Prophet has been 
great, and his advice to the Aborigines injurious 
to them and to the United States. We have the 
fullest evidence that his object has been to form 
a combination of them in hostility to the United 
States. The powerful influence of the British 
has been exerted in a way alluring to the savage 
character." 



178 The Ohio Country 

Complaints also came to the Secretary of War 
that British agents were inciting the Aborigines 
along the western shore of Lake Michigan, and 
supplying them with guns and ammunition. 

General Harrison wrote from Vincennes, July 
5th, that 

"The Shawnee Prophet and about forty followers 
arrived here about a week ago. He denies most 
strenuously any participation in the late combination 
to attack our settlements. ... I must confess that 
my suspicions of his guilt have been rather strength- 
ened than diminished at each interview I have had 
with him since his arrival. He acknowledged that 
he received an invitation to war against us from the 
British last fall, and that he was apprised of the 
intention of the Sacs, Foxes, etc., early in the spring, 
and was warmly solicited to join in their league. , . . 
The result of all my enquiries on the subject is, that 
the late combination was produced by British in- 
trigue and influence in anticipation of war between 
them and the United States. It was, however, 
premature and ill-judged," 

Governor Harrison, in council with Aborigines 
at Fort Wayne, September 30, 1809, succeeded, 
however, in further purchasing their claims to 
two tracts of land in Indiana Territory west of 
the Greenville treaty line and adjoining former 
purchases, the stipulated price being permanent 
annuities of five hundred dollars to the Dela wares, 



From 1 807- 1 809 179 

five hundred dollars to the Miamis, two hundred 
and fifty dollars to the Eel River Miamis, 
and five hundred to the Pottawotamis. The 
Miamis, b}^ separate article of same date, as 
additional compensation, were promised that at 
Fort Wayne the next spring, they would receive 
domestic animals to the value of five hundred 
dollars, and a like number for the two following 
years; and that an armorer should be also main- 
tained at Fort Wayne for the use of the Aborigines 
as heretofore. In treaty with the Kickapoos at 
Vincennes, December 9th, Governor Harrison 
purchased claims to land northwest of the Wabash 
River, adjoining the Vincennes tract, the con- 
sideration being a permanent annuity of four 
hundred dollars, and goods to the amount of eight 
hundred dollars. By this last treaty the Miamis 
were to receive a further annuity of two hundred 
dollars, and the Eel River tribes or bands one 
hundred dollars each. 



CHAPTER XV 

RESULTS OF FURTHER REMISSNESS OF THE 
GOVERNMENT 

Regarding Trading Posts or Agencies — Conspiracy of the 
British and Tecumseh Deepens — Reports from Military- 
Posts — Battle of Tippecanoe — Continued Organization 
and Depredations by the Allied Enemies of the United 
States — Missouri Territory Organized — More Cannibal- 
ism by the Savages. 

TRADING Agencies had been established 
among the Aborigine tribes several years 
after, and according to, the suggestions of General 
Wayne, after the treaty of Greenville in 1795. 
The report to the Secretary of War, December 
31, 1809, of J. Mason, Superintendent of these 
Agencies, styled Factories, possesses features of 
interest in this connection. There were at this 
date twelve establishments of this character, 
eight of which were in the South and Southwest, 
viz.: Fort Hawkins, Georgia; Chickasaw Bluffs, 
Mississippi Territory; Fort St. Stephens by the 

180 



From 1809-1812 181 

Mobile River; Fort Osage by the Missouri River; 
Fort Madison by the upper Mississippi River; 
Natchitoches by the Red River of the South ; Fort 
Wayne at the head of the Maumee River ; Chicago 
at the couthwestem part of Lake Michigan, 
estabHshed in 1805; Sandusky, Ohio, estabHshed 
in 1806; Detroit, established in 1802, and dis- 
continued in 1805 on account of its nearness to 
the British supply house at Fort Maiden; and 
the Agency at Michilimackinac, established in 
1808. 

The net assets of these Agencies or Factories 
at the close of the year 1809 was $235,461.64. 
The amount of appropriations at the close of 
181 1 was $300,000 exclusive of officers' salaries, 
which then amounted to about $35,000 annually. 
From 1807 to 18 11 inclusive, the profit was 
$14,171. The southern Factories reported losses, 
principally on account of the greater difficulty 
of communication. 

Details of but one of these Factories will be 
given. The principal one, at Fort Wayne, was 
organized in 1802. Colonel John Johnston was 
the Factor in 1809, with salary of $1000 per 
year, and subsistence allowance of $365. Wil- 
liam Oliver, his clerk, received salary of $250 
a year and $150 for subsistence. The inventory 



1 82 The Ohio Country 

of October 5th showed: Merchandise, Peltries, 
etc., on hand, $5,020.75; Accounts Receivable, 
per return of March, $2,112.72; Buildings, esti- 
mated at about one half of cost, $500. Mer- 
chandise forwarded by the government to Fort 
Wayne, July 28th, and not included in the above 
amounted to $4,686.87. 

The peltries taken in exchange for merchandise 
at these Trading Houses were: beaver, first 
quality, two dollars each, second quality, one 
dollar; dressed deer skins, one dollar and fifty 
cents; wolf skins, one dollar; muskrat, raccoon, 
wildcat, and fox skins, twenty-five cents each; 
otter, two dollars and^fifty cents ; bear, first quality, 
one dollar and fifty cents, second quality, one 
dollar. Tallow, twelve and a half cents a pound, 
and beeswax at twenty cents also entered into 
the accounts. 

The British continued, however, to command 
most of the beaver and other of the best fur trade. 

Tecumseh and the Prophet continued active. 
The additional councils and purchases of claims 
to land at Fort Wayne and Vincennes were alleged 
as new incentives. General Harrison wrote to 
the Secretary of War, June 14, 1810, that: 

"I have received information from various sources 
which has produced entire conviction in my mind, 



From 1 809-1 812 183 

that the Prophet is organizing a most extensive 
combination against the United States." Another 
letter, dated the 26th of June, informs that : " Winemac 
[a friendly Aborigine] assured me that the Prophet 
not long since proposed to the young men to murder 
the principal chiefs of all the tribes; observing that 
their hands would never be untied until this was 
effected ; that these were the men who had sold their 
lands, and who would prevent opposing the encroach- 
ments of the white people. An Iowa Indian informs 
me that two years ago this summer an agent from 
the British arrived at the Prophet's town and, in 
his presence, delivered a message with which he was 
charged, the substance of which was to urge the 
Prophet to unite as many tribes as he could against 
the United States, but not to commence hostilities 
until they gave the signal. " ^ 

On July II, 18 10, General Harrison again 
wrote that: 

"I have received a letter from Fort Wayne which 
confirms the information of the hostile designs and 
combination of the Indians. The people in the 

' The reader will bear in mind in this connection the 
strained relations of the United States and Great Britain 
which had existed since the Revolutionary War, and which 
frequently received fresh incentives from the impressment 
of American seamen, the searchings of American ships, the 
unjust discriminations in trade, as well as overt acts in this 
western country. The continued arrogance and aggressive- 
ness of the British in Canada, with their efforts to control 
the Savages throughout the United States, show that the 
British ulterior designs on this western country remained 
unabated. 



184 The Ohio Country 

neighborhood where the horses were stolen are so 
much alarmed that they are collecting together for 
their defense." 

Again on July i8th: 

"From the lowas I learn that the Sacs and Foxes 
have actually received the tomahawk and are ready 
to strike whenever the Prophet gives the signal. A 
considerable number of Sacs went some time since 
to see the British Superintendent and, on the first 
instant, fifty more passed Chicago for the same 
destination. A Miami chief who has just returned 
from his annual visit to Maiden, after having re- 
ceived the accustomed donation of goods was thus 
addressed by the British agent: 'My son keep your 
eyes fixed on me; my tomahawk is now up; be you 
ready, but do not strike until I give the signal.' " 

General Clark wrote from St. Louis, July 20th, 
that: 

"A few weeks ago the post-rider on his way from 
Vincennes to this place was killed, and the mail lost; 
since that time we have had no communication with 
Vincennes. A part of the Sacs and the greatest part of 
the Kickapoos who reside east of the Mississippi have 
been absent some time on a visit to the Indian Prophet. 
One hundred and fifty Sacs are on a visit to the 
British Agent by invitation, and a smaller party on a 
visit to the Island of St. Joseph in Lake Huron. " 

On July 25th, General Harrison again wrote in 
part as follows: 



From 1 809-1 812 185 

"There can be no doubt of the designs of the 
Prophet and the British Agent of Indian Affairs 
[Alexander McKee?] to do us injury. This agent is 
a refugee from the neighborhood of [Pitts- 
burg] and his implacable hatred of his native country 
prompted him to take part with the Aborigines in 
the battle between them and General Wayne's army. 
[See ante.] He has, ever since his appointment to 
the principal agency, used his utmost endeavors to 
excite hostilities, and the lavish manner in which he 
is allowed to scatter presents amongst them, shews 
that his government participates in his enmity and 
authorizes his measures." 

Governor Hull wrote from Detroit, July 27th, 
in part as follows: 

"Large bodies of Indians from the westward and 
southward continue to visit the British post at Am- 
herstburg [Maiden] and are supplied with provisions, 
arms, ammunition, etc. Much more atteiition is 
paid to them than usual. " 

On August 7th, Captain John Johnston, Agent 
of the Fort Wayne Trading Post, wrote: 

"Since writing you on the 25th ultimo, about one 
hundred Sawkeys [Sacs] have returned from the 
British Agent who supplied them liberally with 
everything they stood in want of. The party re- 
ceived forty-seven rifles and a number of fusils 
[flintlock muskets] with plenty of powder and lead. 
This is sending firebrands into the Mississippi country 
inasmuch as it will draw numbers of our Aborigines 



1 86 The Ohio Country 

to the British side in the hope of being treated with 
the same liberality. " 

On August I, 1810, General Harrison reported 
that a number of the inhabitants of the northern 
frontier of the Jeffersonville district had been 
driven away by the Aborigines, and much of their 
property destroyed. 

The Secretary of War received many other 
letters from the widely separated posts, evidencing 
the continued preparations of the Savages for 
war, under the incitements of the British. But 
few additional excerpts will be here given. Feb- 
ruary 6, 181 1, Captain Johnston reported from 
Fort Wayne: 

" has been at this place. The information 

derived from him is the same I have been in possession 
of for several years, to wit: the intrigues of the 
British agents and partisans in creating an influence 
hostile to our people and government, within our 
territory. I do not know whether a garrison [fort] 
is to be erected on the Wabash or not; but every 
consideration of sound policy urges the early estab- 
lishment of a post somewhere contiguous to the 
Prophet's residence. " 

It is well to bear in mind in this connection 
the continued echoes of the remnant of the 
Federalists of New England, who yet desired to 



From 1 809-181 2 187 

ignore the western country, and who had done much 
toward the ignoring of the aggressions of the British 
in the Ohio Country, and, finally, opposed the War 
of 18 1 2 to correct these abuses. January 14, 181 1, 
Josiah Quincy, Representative from Massachusetts, 
spoke in the House in part as follows : 

"I am compelled to declare it as my deliberate 
opinion that, if this bill [for the admission of Orleans 
(Louisiana) as a State] passes, the bonds of this 
Union are virtually dissolved; that the States which 
compose it are free from their moral obligations; and 
that as it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty 
of some, to prepare definitely for a separation amica- 
bly, if they can, violently, if they must." 

Hostilities were continued to the westward, 
some murders and captivities of Americans being 
reported; and some blockhouses were bmlt along 
the frontier for the refuge and defence of the re- 
maining settlers. 

Governor Harrison had not remained idle. 
He had instituted preparations for defence, and 
for advance movements. By appointment he 
was visited by the chief leader of the hostile 
Aborigines, his written report of the visit, August 
6, 181 1, being in part as follows: 

"The Shawnee Chief Tecumseh has made a visit 
to this place with about three hundred Indians, 



i88 The Ohio Country 

though he promised to bring but a few attendants; 
his intentions hostile, though he found us prepared 
for him. Tecumseh did not set out until yesterday; 
he then descended the Wabash attended by twenty 
men on his way to the southward. After having 
visited the Creeks and Choctaws he is to visit the 
Osages, and return by the Missouri. The spies say 
his object in coming with so many was to demand a 
retrocession of the late purchase [of Aborigine claims 
to land]. At the moment he was promising to bring 
but a few men with him he was sending in every 
direction to collect his people. That he meditated 
a blow at this time was believed by almost all the 
neutral Aborigines." 

Governor Harrison reported, September nth, 
from Vincennes as follows : 

" states that almost every Indian from the 

country above this had been or was gone to Maiden 
on a visit to the British Agent. We shall probably 
gain our destined point at the moment of their return. 
If then the British agents are really endeavoring 
to instigate the Aborigines to make war upon us, 
we shall be in. their neighborhood at the very moment 
when the impressions which have been made against 
us are most active in the minds of the savages. 

succeeded in getting the chiefs together at 

Fort Wayne, though he found them all preparing to 
go to Maiden. The result of the council discovered 
that the whole tribes (including the Weas and Eel 
Rivers, for they are all Miamis) were about equally 
divided in favor of the Prophet and the United States. 



From 1 809-1 812 189 

reports that all the Aborigines of the Wabash 

have been or now are on a visit to the British Agent 
at Maiden; he has never known more than one-fourth 
as many goods given to the Aborigines as they are 
now distributing. He examined the share of one 
(not a chief) and found that he had received an 
elegant rifle, twenty-five pounds of powder, fifty 
pounds of lead, three blankets, three strouds of cloth, 
ten shirts, and several other articles. He says every 
Aborigine is furnished with a gun (either rifle or 
fusil) and an abundance of ammunition. A trader 
of this country was lately in the King's store at 
Maiden, and was told that the quantity of goods for 
the Indian Department which had been sent out 
this year, exceeded that of common years by ;i£2o,ooo 
sterling. It is impossible to ascribe this profusion 
to any other motive than that of instigating the 
Aborigines to take up the tomahawk; it cannot be 
to secure their trade for all the peltries collected on 
the waters of the Wabash in one year if sold on the 
London market would not pay the freight of the 
goods which have been given to the Aborigines." 

Tecumseh and. the Prophet had been advising 
, discontinuance of trade with Americans. Action 
on this advice led to some clandestine trading, 
to more fraudulent practices by the Aborigines, 
and to their violence. But the principal result 
was observed as an additional incentive to turn 
the Savages to the British whose lavish gifts had 
already drawn nearly all of them to Fort ]\Ialden. 

Meetings of citizens along the frontier were 



I go The Ohio Country 

held during the summer of 1811; and memorials 
stating the depredations and murders by the 
Aborigines, accompanied by petitions for pro- 
tection, were sent by them to President Madison, 
Governor Harrison was given additional regular 
troops and militia, and the second week in October 
they advanced up the Wabash towards the 
Prophet's town by the Tippecanoe River to stop 
his influence for further murderous raids. Peace 
messengers were sent forward, but they were 
violently treated, and on the night of the loth 
a sentinel of the American command was severely 
wounded by the Prophet's adherents. Governor 
Harrison commanded the Americans in person. 
He advanced cautiously and, on the 6th of 
November, meeting some of the Prophet's messen- 
gers near his town, made an agreement for a 
council the next morning. But, true to the 
treacherous nature of the Savages, they made a 
stealthy attack in the dark about a quarter past 
four o'clock in the morning, when, in the words 
of Governor Harrison's report, "they manifested 
a ferocity uncommon to them. To their savage 
fury our troops, nineteen twentieths of whom 
had not before been in battle, opposed that cool 
and deliberate valor which is characteristic of 
the Christian soldier." The Savages retreated. 



From 1 809-1 812 191 

The Americans in this Battle of Tippecanoe num- 
bered a few over seven hundred ; and the number of 
Savages was estimated as nearly the same. The 
American loss was sixty-two killed and one hun- 
dred and twenty-six wounded. The loss of the 
Savages was estimated at a larger number. 

The condition of the frontier settlements was 
but little, if any, improved by this defeat of the 
Shawnee Prophet's army. To dishearten the 
Savages seriously, it was necessary to give them 
a crushing defeat, or a series of defeats. Depre- 
dations and murders continued in the West, and 
grave apprehensions pervaded the entire country. 

Among the petitioners to the President and 
Congress for protection, were the prominent 
citizens of the Territory of Michigan, living at 
Detroit, who gave statistics from which the 
following are extracted, viz.: The population of 
the Territory, December 10, 181 1, was given as 
four thousand seven hundred and sixty-two, 
about four fifths of whom were French, the 
remainder being largely Americans, with a few 
British, and some servants of African blood. ^ 

> African slaves were brought into this western region by 
the Aborigines, and were taken to Detroit from an early 
date. They were bought first by the French, and later by 
the British, army officers, and merchants, by whom they were 
retained as servants for many years. 



192 The Ohio Country 

They were distributed in nine principal settle- 
ments each settlement having a "double frontier" 
— the British on one side, the Savages on the other. 
The first three of these settlements were named 
as: I, the mouth of the Maumee River; 2, the 
River Raisin; 3, the River Huron, in Michigan 
Territory, The other settlements were at De- 
troit, and northward, and westward. There 
were two forts, Detroit with a garrison of ninety- 
four soldiers, and Michilimackinac with seventy- 
nine soldiers. Additional forts were petitioned 
for, with stronger garrisons, and cavalry. 

Wandering bands of hostile Aborigines and 
" British emissaries " continued to visit every 
camp, and Fort Maiden. Had the petitions of 
the settlers for more forts and cavalry been 
granted, and these hostile mischief-makers been 
'arrested and imprisoned, the influence of the 
"Prophet" and of the British could have been 
greatly reduced and many American lives saved. 
The policy of forbearance, delay, and hoping for 
peace was continued until long after the British 
and their savage allies were again thoroughly 
organized. 

Governor Howard of Missouri Territory wrote 
March 19, 181 2, detailing depredations and "most 
barbarous murders" by Savages; and the letters 



From 1 809-181 2 193 

of like import from Captain Nathan Heald were 
frequent from Chicago, including the report of 
killing and eating two Americans by Winnebagoes 
at the lead mines near the Mississippi River. 

The Trading Agent at Fort Wayne, then Major 
Benjamin F. Stickney, after reporting a grand 
council of twelve tribes by the Wabash River, 
wrote May 25th, what he had before written to 
Governor Hull, viz. : 

"The time appears to have arrived when it is 
necessary, if possible, to cut off all communication 
between the Indians within the territory of the 
United States, and Canada," 

This was a very tardy suggestion of a policy 
the enforcement of which should have seemed a 
necessity many years before this date. Tribe af- 
ter tribe and band after band of the Aborigines, 
including several hundred Ottawas of the lower 
Maumee, had been enticed to remove to the Tip- 
pecanoe, or to near Maiden, and again to ally 
themselves closely with the British for a general 
war. 
13 



CHAPTER XVI 

SAD BEGINNING OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 

Tardy Action of Congress — Declaration of War against 
Great Britain — This War of 1812 the Real War for In- 
dependence — The Army of the Northwest the First in the 
Field — Forts McArthur, Necessity, Findlay, and Miami 
Built — Sad Inefficiency of General Hull — He Orders the 
Abandonment of Fort Dearborn — Massacre and Canni- 
balism by British Allies — Hull Surrenders Fort at 
Detroit without Effort for Defence — Brave and Patriotic 
Work by Captain Brush. 

NOTWITHSTANDING the numerous reports 
of many American agents and officers, 
during several years of depredations and mur- 
derings by the Savages, and the accumulated 
evidence of their incitement by British traders, 
other agents, and officers, it was not until June 
13, 181 2, that the committee of Congress reported 
it proved that the British had been working 
among these Aborigines with the intention of 
securing them as allies against the United States; 

194 



From 1812-1813 195 

that the British had incited them to hostiHties 
and presented them with weapons of warfare which 
had already been used against the Americans; 
and that it was the duty of the President of the 
United States to use the necessary means to 
protect the frontiers from the attacks with which 
they were yet threatened. 

The war cloud that had been lowering for 
several years, settled into a formal declaration of 
war against Great Britain, June 18, 181 2, on 
account of the enemy's interference with Amer- 
ican trade, enforced by a blockade; the search 
of American vessels; the impressment of American 
seamen, and the encouragement of the Aborigines 
in their savagery against Americans. This last 
charge was yet far more apparent in the West 
than to the general public in the East and was, 
as yet, scarcely mentioned by those highest in 
authority in the East, 

This was to be the real war for independence 
from Great Britain, as foreseen by Benjamin 
Franklin; the war of 1 775-1 783 was only Revo- 
lutionary. 

Governor William Hull, of Michigan Territory, 
was in Washington during part of the winter and 
spring of 181 2, and he urged the President to 
increase the military force in the Northwest ; and 



196 The Ohio Country 

for the third time he called attention to the 
positive necessity for an American naval fleet on 
Lake Erie. 

The President made requisition early in April 
upon Governor Return J. Meigs of Ohio for 
twelv^e hundred militia to be ready for immediate 
march to Detroit. He also appointed Com- 
mander Stewart, Agent on Lake Erie, and ordered 
the building of vessels for defence. 

On April 8th, Governor Hull was commissioned 
Brigadier-General in the United States army, and 
he was ordered to take charge of the Ohio troops. 
It appears that this was against his desire, and 
it was surely a very serious mistake. Hull 
arrived May 25th at Da3rton, Ohio, the place of 
rendezvous, and the volunteer troops were at 
once given to his command by Governor Meigs. 
They moved northward June ist to Urbana, 
where they were joined by the Fourth Regiment 
of United States troops, which the President 
had ordered forward from Vincennes. ' 

It was the desire of General Hull to go as direct 
to Detroit as practicable, and this course led 
through a trackless forest until arrival at the 
Maumee River a little below Roche de Bout. 
Colonel Duncan McArthur's First Regiment was 
detached to cut a road from Urbana, which was 



From 1 8i 2-1 813 197 

done to tLe Scioto River near the present Kenton, 
and there they built two blockhouses and con- 
nected them with stockades, which, later, received 
the name Fort McArthur. 

The army arrived at this post June 19th. 
The Second Regiment, under Colonel James 
Findlay, was here detached to cut and bridge a 
road onward. On June 2 2d, Fort McArthur 
was garrisoned by Captain Dill's company, and 
leaving the sick in his care, the army moved 
forward. Heavy rains made the way across the 
morasses at the headwaters of the Blanchard 
River well-nigh impassable, and, after a laborious 
struggle, and under great annoyance from the 
small flies and mosquitoes, they were obliged 
to halt sixteen miles from Fort McArthur. Here 
were built another stockade and houses which 
were named Fort Necessity. With lessening 
food supplies, the horses and oxen were put on 
short allowance, and rearrangements were made 
whereby the wagons were to be relieved of more 
of their burden by packs on the horses "and every 
man who could make a packsaddle was detailed 
on that business; but as soon as a sufficient 
number of saddles were made the order was 
rescinded, and the saddles were deposited in the 
blockhouses. " 



198 The Ohio Country 

' The weather improving, the army advanced and, 
after three days, arrived at the Blanchard River, 
on the left bank of which Colonel Findlay's 
detachment had nearly completed a stockaded 
enclosure about one hundred and fifty feet square, 
with a blockhouse at each comer, and a ditch in 
front. General Hull gave this place of refuge in 
the forest the name Fort Findlay. It was 
situated but a few squares north of the present 
court-house in the city of Findlay, Ohio. 

A messenger, Colonel Dunlap, here delivered 
to General Hull, on June 24th, an order from the 
Secretary of War for the army to proceed at once 
to Detroit and there expect further orders. This 
order was dated the morning of June i8th, the 
day that war was declared, but no mention of 
this act was made in the order. Colonel Mc- 
Arthur, however, received communication the 
same day from Chillicothe, stating on authority 
of Thomas Worthington, then United States 
Senator from Ohio, that war would be proclaimed 
before this writing could be delivered to him. 
This letter was shown to General Hull who, from 
his previous information, knew that war was 
imminent. 

President Madison and William Eustis, Secre- 
tary of War, early provided for three armies for 



From 1812-1813 199 

the prosecution of the War of 18 12, viz.: The 
Army of the Northwest, under General Hull, 
which was the first in the field; the Army of the 
Center, under Solomon Van Rensselaer, whose 
headquarters were at Niagara ; and the Army of the 
North, under General Joseph Bloomfield, whose 
head-quarters were at Plattsburg, New York. 

The object of the remaining part of this book 
is to follow the movements, failures, and successes 
of the Army of the Northwest, which will be cred- 
ited with turning the contest against the British, 
and with the saving of the region west of the 
Allegheny Mountains, for the second time, at 
least, to the United States. 

General Hull directed Colonel Lewis Cass, with 
the Third Regiment, to cut and prepare a road 
northward from Fort Findlay. Much of the 
heavy baggage was stored at this fort, to be 
forwarded as desired, and the army proceeded 
as soon as practicable. After a few days' march, 
they arrived at the Maumee River, opposite the 
site of General Wayne's battle-field of Fallen 
Timber, where encampment was made for the 
night. Fording the river at the rapids here, the 
next encampment was made near a small village 
of American settlers, and at the site of the British 
Fort Miami of 1 794-1 796. 



200 The Ohio Country 

Here the schooner Cuyahoga under Captain 
Chapin was chartered for Detroit, and loaded 
with much of the heavier baggage, including 
entrenching implements, hospital stores, the 
heaviest part of the officers' personal effects, and 
even thoughtlessly including the General's com- 
mission, the instructions from the Secretary of 
War, and the complete muster rolls of the army. 
Thirty soldiers were detailed as guard for the 
schooner, which also carried as passengers the 
wives of three subordinate officers. 

The sequel proved that it would have been far 
better for the American cause had General Hull 
also gone with his private papers, direct to the 
British. Captain McPherson, of Cincinnati, here 
suggested to the General that war must have been 
declared, and that the schooner would be captured 
by the enemy. The Cuyahoga, accompanied by 
a sloop carrying the sick under care of Surgeon's 
Mate James Reynolds, sailed, however, from the 
Maumee River, July i, 1812, the former to be 
captured by the British next day, when passing 
Fort Maiden. The sloop was belated and, 
going up the shallower channel west of Bois 
Blanc Island, evaded the enemy and arrived 
at Detroit July 3d. 

Lieutenant Davidson and twenty-five privates 



From 1812-1813 201 

were detached to build and occupy a blockhouse 
at the ruins of Fort Miami, ^ and, July ist, the 
army continued the march northward through 
the best cleared country in the West, it having 
been the highway, with many settlements, of the 
French and British, for one hundred and fifty 
years or more. 

General Hull did not formally learn of the 
declaration of war until the afternoon of July 
2d, when he was overtaken near Frenchtown 
(the present Monroe, Michigan) by a messenger 
with 'such information from the Secretary of 
War; and he here also learned of the capture of 
his schooner. The British garrison at Fort 
Maiden had previously received notification of 
the war, and was alert for action. Fort Michili- 
mackinac (later Mackinac, and Mackinaw) with 
a garrison of fifty-seven soldiers was surrendered 
to a far superior force of British and Savages 
July 17th, the commandant, Lieutenant Porter 
Hicks, first learning at their demand for surrender 
that war was declared. 

Late in July, Hull ordered the abandonment 
of Fort Dearborn, Chicago, Captain William Wells 

« See the article on the six Forts Miami in the Ohio Archaeo- 
logical and Historical Quarterly, April, 1903, vol. xii., p. 120 
et seq., by Charles E. Slocum. 



202 The Ohio Country- 

bearing the order from Fort Wayne. Members 
of the garrison, and others, including Captain 
Wells, who had been a very efficient scout, inter- 
preter, and soldier with Wayne, and later, suffered 
massacre on leaving the fort, by Savages who 
ate the heart and part of the body of Wells 
particularly. 

Governor Meigs, Thomas Worthington, and Jer- 
emiah Morrow, as United States Commissioners, 
held a council at Piqua, Ohio, August 15th, with 
such representatives of the Aborigines as could 
be gathered, for the purpose of securing their 
neutrality with the British. A number of the 
Ohio tribes were represented, but little could 
be done with them, they having heard the report 
from Michilimackinac and Chicago. 

Full account of the weak conduct of General 
Hull, which has been several times and fully 
written, will not be given space here. It culmi- 
nated, August 1 6th, in the surrender to the 
British of Detroit, with nearly two thousand 
American soldiers, without any effort toward 
resistance having been made. This surrender 
was an irreparable loss to the Northwestern Army^ 
and of corresponding value to the enemy. As 
heretofore seen on these pages, this post had for 
many years been a great vantage ground for the 



From 1812-1813 203 

British; and the surrender also carried to the 
enemy two thousand and four hundred stand of 
arms, besides those in the arsenal ; also of cannon : 
iron, nine 24-pounders, five 9-, three 6-, four 2-, and 
two I -pounders; and of howitzers, one 8 -inch 
and one 5§-inch; these according to the British 
official returns. 

The Ohio volunteers in this unfortunate army 
were paroled, and sent across Lake Erie to Cleve- 
land, whence they walked to their respective 
homes. They were exchanged in March or early 
April, 18 13. General Hull and the United States 
troops were retained as prisoners of war, and were 
sent to Montreal. 

An additional two hundred and thirty volun- 
teers, under Captain Henry Brush, with one 
hundred beef cattle and other food supplies, sent 
by Governor Meigs to reinforce the army at De- 
troit, were held by the British from advancing 
beyond the river Raisin from the first days of 
August, without relief from Detroit. Hull included 
this force in his surrender; but when Captain 
Elliott, son of the notorious Captain Matthew 
Elliott, and his attendants came to claim this prize. 
Captain Brush placed them under arrest and im- 
mediately started his command and supplies south- 
ward, and conducted them back to Governor Meigs. 



CHAPTER XVII 

SLOW PROGRESS IN PREPARING TO MEET THE 
ENEMY 

Efforts to Repair Hull's Loss — General Harrison Appointed 
Commander-in-Chief — Siege of Fort Wayne Relieved — 
General Winchester Appointed to Succeed Harrison 
without Cause. 

*\ A 7"HEN the critical state of affairs at Detroit 
' ' was made known to Governor Meigs, he 
immediately ordered the remaining part of Ohio's 
quota of the one hundred thousand detached 
militia, which the President was authorized to 
levy among the States, twelve hundred in number, 
to rendezvous under Brigadier-General Tupper 
at Urbana, which was well in the southern edge 
of the wilderness. When the Governor learned 
of the loss of Detroit, he became active in placing 
every effective force and point in good con- 
dition for successful defence against the Savages; 
also in advising the frontiersmen to gather and 

204 



From 1812-1813 205 

build blockhouses for the protection of their 
families. 

Kentucky, under the Governorship of the 
veteran General Charles Scott, was prompt in 
gathering her quota of ten regiments of five hun- 
dred and fifty men each. Governor Harrison, 
who, the preceding year, had been commissioned 
to command the troops in Indiana and Illinois 
Territories, had, with his characteristic thought- 
fulness and good judgment, secured places of 
refuge for the settlers in his domain. He was 
also authorized to call on the Governor of Ken- 
tucky for any soldiers, needed from that State, 
which were not in service. 

By invitation of Governor Scott, his comrade in 
General Wayne's campaign tnrough Ohio, Harri- 
son visited Frankfort, inspected the militia, and 
was given a public reception, the principal citizens 
including Henry Clay uniting to do him honor; 
and in order that he might be chief in command 
of the Kentucky forces. Governor Scott com- 
missioned him, August 25, 181 2, Major-General 
of the militia of Kentucky by brevet. It was not 
known by either party that President Madison 
had, on August 2 2d, commissioned him Brigadier- 
General in the Army of the United States. 

Writing to Governor Meigs from Cincinnati on 



2o6 The Ohio Country 

the 27th, General Harrison stated, that the Ken- 
tucky troops then with him were two regiments 
of infantry and one of mounted riflemen, which 
were ordered at once to Urbana; and that three 
regiments of infantry, one of dragoons, and one 
of mounted riflemen were in full march to join 
him — the whole number being over four thousand 
men. He further stated that "should the report 
of the capture of General Hull's army prove 
untrue, I shall join them either at that place 
[Urbana], or before they reach it, and proceed 
to Detroit without waiting for the regiments in 
my rear." He also inquired what assistance 
could be given him from Ohio. 

The Kentucky troops marched up the Miami 
Valley, and were overtaken by General Harrison 
the third day. On September 2d, when above 
Dayton, they were overtaken by an express 
bearing the United States commission for Gen- 
eral Harrison and instructions for him to take 
command of the Indiana and Illinois troops, and 
co-operate with General Hull of Detroit, and 
Governor Howard of Missouri Territory, as Gen- 
eral James Winchester had been assigned to the 
chief command of the Northwestern Army. 

The march was continued to Piqua, where they 
arrived September 3d, to learn that Fort Wayne, 



From 1812-1813 207 

which had been rebuilt by Colonel Thomas Hunt 
in 1804, was strongly besieged by Savages, and 
that a strong command of British and Savages 
had been sent from Fort Maiden for the conquest 
of the Maumee and Wabash valleys. The Abo- 
rigine Agent at Piqua, Colonel John Johnston, 
at the request of General Harrison, sent some 
Shawnee scouts yet on his pay-roll to the site of 
Fort Defiance, to ascertain if any British force 
had passed up the Maumee River to the siege of 
Fort Wayne. Captain John Logan, a friendly 
and efficient Shawnee half-breed, was sent to 
Fort Wayne, to learn and to report its condition 
as soon as possible. 

Immediate action seemed imperative, and, 
without awaiting General Winchester's arrival 
or his orders. General Harrison ordered Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel John Allen's regiment of Federal 
troops, with two companies from Colonel Lewis's 
regiment, and one company from Colonel Scott's 
regiment, to prepare for a forced march to the 
relief of Fort Wayne. ^ 

> Early the next day, the 5th September, General Harri- 
son paraded the remainder of the troops and delivered to 
them a speech, detailing the duties of soldiers, and stating 
if there was any person who would not submit to such regula- 
tions, or who was afraid to risk his life in defence of his 
country, he might return home. Only one man desired to 
return; and his friends having obtained leave, as usual. 



2o8 The Ohio Country 

For the cavalry a delay of two days was 
necessary, that they might receive flints for their 
guns, and a few other supplies that were ex- 
pected daily; and at dawn, on September 6th, 
they moved briskly forward in light marching 
order, and, early on the 8th, came up with Colonel 
Allen's command at St. Marys, where an express 
from General Harrison had overtaken Colonel 
Allen, with orders to halt and build a stockaded 
fort, for the protection of the sick, and security of 
provisions. Here they were joined by Major 
Richard M. Johnson, with a corps of Kentucky 
mounted volunteers. That night, Aborigines 
were seen spying the encampment, but they did 
not molest any one. They returned to the be- 
siegers of Fort Wayne with the report that 
" Kentuck was coming as numerous as the trees." 
Here, also, the messenger. Captain Logan, re- 
ported his observations of the distressed con- 
dition of Fort Wayne, he having evaded the 
besiegers and returned in safety. The after- 
noon of September pth, the army encamped at 
Shane's Crossing of the river St. Marys, the 

to escort him on his way, he was hoisted on a rail and carried 
to the Big Miami, in the waters of which they absolved him 
from the obligations of courage and patriotism, and then 
gave him leave of absence. — Captain Robert M'Afee's 
History of the Late War ( 1 8 1 2 ) , page 121. 



From 1812-1813 209 

present Rockford, Ohio, where they met Colonel 
Adams, with a good force of Ohio volunteer 
cavalry. From this place the combined forces 
moved cautiously, and in as near battle order 
as practicable. General Harrison was a member 
of General Wayne's staff during his campaign 
through this wilderness and he had been an apt 
student of Wayne's successful methods. The 
encampment was fortified, or well protected each 
night, and the march by day was in such order 
as to prevent being ambuscaded. He also kept 
well informed regarding the condition and temper 
of each division. 

The scouts soon reconnoitered the country 
around Fort Wayne, and found that the Savages 
had made good their escape. That afternoon, 
most of the army encamped near the fort, where 
a short time before had been a comfortable 
village. It w^as now in ruins, having been burned 
by the Savages, together with the United States 
Factory (trading agency building) which had 
been erected to supply the ungrateful wretches 
with farming utensils and the comforts of civilized 
life. 

British agents were constantly with the Savages, 
to prevent defection in their bands and activities. 
At the councils held in the farther West, and nearer, 



2IO The Ohio Country 

it was reported by the Savages that they had been 
promised that, if they would besiege the posts, 
Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison by the Wabash, 
and prevent their abandonment, as at Fort 
Dearborn, they should be joined in one moon by 
a large British force from Forts Maiden and 
Detroit, with artillery, able to demolish the stock- 
ades and give the garrisons to massacre and spoil 
— and their success in this would expose the whole 
frontier to their devastation. Such report would 
seem incredible at this day, were it not that such 
deeds had repeatedly been committed by the 
British and their savage allies formerly, and that 
they were done at every one of their successful 
opportunities during the War of 1812. 

As in former wars, an occasional Frenchman 
was friendly and true to the Americans. Antoine 
Bondie was such an one at Fort Wayne; and 
it was evidently through his early warnings and 
personal influence at critical moments that the 
garrison was saved from massacre, and the post 
preserved to the Americans. 

The number of savage warriors besieging Fort 
Wayne was estimated at five hundred; and the 
garrison numbered about eighty. The Savages 
were secreted around in every available place, 
hoping to observe the sentries in thoughtless 



From 1812-1813 211 

exposure, or some weak point at the entrance 
gate or about the stockade. They essayed 
strategy. They killed Stephen Johnson, clerk 
in the agency store, who sought to evade them 
and visit Piqua to look after his wife. They 
killed the garrison's cattle and hogs, and com- 
mitted every depredation possible. Both parties 
wished to delay the final conflict — the Americans 
awaiting General Harrison's arrival, the Savages 
and their British helpers that of their promised 
reinforcements. 

Upon the arrival of General Harrison, he recon- 
noitered the country in all directions, and found 
that the enemy had retreated toward Maiden, 



CHAPTER XVIII 

EXTREME SUFFERINGS OF KENTUCKY SOLDIERS 

General Winchester Assumes Command of the Army — Harri- 
son Directs Clearing of Roads and Building of Forts 
Barbee, Jennings, and Amanda — Winchester Marches 
Army from Fort Wayne to Defiance — British Force 
Checked on their Way to Fort Wayne — Harrison Re- 
appointed Chief in Command of Northwestern Army — 
Visits Winchester at Defiance and Settles Discord — 
Plans Fort Winchester which Was Built at Defiance 
— Extreme Sufferings of Winchester's Left Wing of 
the Army — Battle of Mississinewa River. 

AXnNCHESTER arrived at Fort Wayne 

' ' September 19th, and Harrison at once 

recognized him as his ranking officer, stranger 

though he was to this wilderness country, to the 

ways of the Savages, and to the condition of 

affairs; and a General Order was issued to the 

soldiers introducing the new commander and 

urging strict obedience to his commands. 

The necessity for additional roads and places 

for the protection of food and other military 

212 



From 1812-1813 213 

supplies being urgent, General Harrison returned 
to St. Marys, where he found the expected Ken- 
tucky troops. Colonel Joshua Barbee was in-, 
structed to build there an ample fortification, 
and storehouse within the stockades, which was 
named Fort Barbee. Colonel William Jennings 
was ordered to open a direct road toward De- 
fiance, and to build a fort at the end of the port- 
age by the Auglaize River. This post was 
named Fort Jennings, which name is perpetuated 
at its site by a pleasant village with the same 
name. Colonel Findlay's regiment of Ohio cav- 
alry, which the Governor had ordered to report 
at St. Marys, was ordered forward to destroy the 
prominent Ottawa towns by the Blanchard 
River, their former inhabitants having been 
hostile and now favoring the British. 

General Winchester remained at Fort Wayne 
two days and, September 2 2d, "rejoicing in the 
prospect" of recouping the disaster at Detroit, 
he moved his army of about two thousand anx- 
ious soldiers down the left bank of the Maumee 
River. The savage scouts of the enemy ambushed 
and killed several of his scouts, and endeavored 
to entrap others. It soon developed that the 
enemy's scouts were the advance line of about 
two hundred British troops under Major Muir, 



214 The Ohio Country 

and one thousand or more Savages led by the 
notorious Colonel Matthew Elliott. This was 
the force previously reported as coming from 
Fort Maiden to aid in the reduction of Fort Wayne. 
They had brought by boats to the site of Fort 
Defiance four cannon and other heavy equipment, 
and had then advanced in as near readiness for 
battle as possible. Upon learning that they 
would meet a strong force of Americans in front, 
and that their retreat would be cut off by an 
oncoming force down the Auglaize River, they 
hastily retreated the way they had come. 

Winchester, fording the Maumee about five 
miles above the site of Fort Defiance, advanced 
cautiously down the way of the retreating foe 
and, on September 30th, fortified an encamp- 
ment on the right high bank of the Maumee, one 
mile and a half by river above the site of General 
Wayne's Fort Defiance. 

Meantime, General Harrison had received a 
letter from the Secretary of War, announcing 
that he was assigned to the full command of the 
Northwestern Army, which, in addition to the 
regular troops and rangers in that quarter, 
would consist of the volunteers and militia of 
Kentucky, Ohio, and three thousand men from 
Virginia and Pennsylvania, making his entire 



From 1812-1813 215 

force ten thousand. This desirable appointment 
of Harrison was due to the influence of his many- 
friends in Kentucky, as well as those north of the 
Ohio River, who realized the mistake of having 
Winchester outrank him. 

Winchester's report of the enemy was received 
by Harrison at Fort Barbee September 30th, as 
was also a report from Governor Meigs of a strong 
force of the enertty opposing Winchester. The 
three thousand men then at Fort Barbee were at 
once started direct for Defiance, Harrison com- 
manding in person. The first night they en- 
camped at Fort Jennings, where word of the 
retreat of the enemy was received. This gave 
opportunity for part of the soldiers to clear the 
road to Defiance, and others to build a fortifi- 
cation farther up the Auglaize River, on the site 
of Wayne's Fort Auglaize. This post was named 
by Colonel Pogue, its builder. Fort Amanda, in 
honor of his wife. 

General Harrison, with the cavalry, continued 
down the river, along the Wayne trace of eighteen 
years before. Upon his arrival at Winchester's 
encampment many of the latter' s soldiers were 
found in a condition bordering on revolt. The 
food supplies had become short, and the men 
were suffering from insufficient clothing and from 



2i6 The Ohio Country 

sickness. They had been unfavorably impressed 
with their General. They greeted Harrison, 
however, with great warmth, and his address to 
them was received in very good spirit. The food 
brought with the visitors gave the hungry men 
a better breakfast than they had been accustomed 
to, which, together with the parading and frater- 
nizing of the cavalry, renewed the soldierly spirit. 
New plans were entered upon. They found 
Wayne's Fort Defiance in ruins; and even had it 
remained in good condition its size would have 
been inadequate for the present demands. Harri- 
son selected another site near by, along the high 
bank of the Auglaize River, and drew a plan for 
a new fort and stockaded enclosure, to embrace 
twelve times the ground space, or more, of the 
former Fort Defiance; and the soldiers began its 
construction in good spirits. Harrison named 
this post Fort Winchester. 

The Northwestern Army was divided into two 
wings and a center. General Winchester was 
directed to retain his command, which was to be 
known as the left wing. The right wing was 
composed of the brigades from Virginia and 
Pennsylvania, and one brigade from south- 
eastern Ohio. This wing proceeded down the 
Sandusky River, and built Fort Feree at Upper 



From 1812-1813 217 

Sandusky, Fort Ball at the present Tiffin, and Fort 
Stephenson at Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, 
Ohio. General Tupper was to command the center, 
moving' along Hull's Road by Forts McArthur, 
Necessity, and Findlay, heretofore mentioned. 

While at Defiance, General Harrison discussed 
with Winchester the lateness of the season; the 
difficulties of advancing the army during the 
winter; the food supply; health of the soldiers; 
and the desirability of his sending two of his 
regiments southward for the winter, where they 
would be near the source of supply of food and 
clothing. They also debated whether General 
Tupper, with the cavalry, nearly a thousand in 
number, should be sent down the Maumee beyond 
the lowest rapids, to disperse any of the enemy 
there found, thus saving the crops abandoned 
there by the American settlers; and return to 
Fort Barbee by way of the Ottawa towns by the 
Blanchard River. These suggested orders were 
not decided upon by Winchester and Tupper. 
There was friction betw^een the commanders, and 
also between the Federal and volunteer soldiers, 
which prevented the proposed expedition of the 
left wing. This wing, Tupper wrote, "was at one 
time capable of tearing the British flag from the 
walls of Detroit." 



2i8 The Ohio Country 

Rumors of Fort Wayne being again besieged, 
and the activity of the Savages around the work- 
men while building Fort Winchester, the expira- 
tion of the time of enlistment of many men, and 
particularly the lateness of the season with 
scarcity of food and clothing, and, withal, much 
sickness, kept the soldiers from advancing toward 
Detroit, as had been expected. 

During General Winchester's stay, of about 
three months, just above and below Defiance, his 
army occupied five encampments, two below 
being temporary. With continued short rations, 
delay in the receipt of winter clothing, and the 
growing severity of the winter, the sickness and 
sufferings of the soldiers were increasing, and the 
changes of encampment were made for sanitary 
reasons, and that the men might be nearer tim- 
ber for fuel. 

On account of their hurried march to the relief 
of Fort Wayne, much of the soldiers' clothing was 
left at Pi qua, and many of the men w^ere yet wear- 
ing the linen hunting coats in which they started 
from their homes in Kentucky, on 12th August; 
and these were in rags from natural wear, and 
from the brush and timber with which they had 
been obliged to contend. Many were so entirely 
destitute of shoes and other clothing, that they 



From 1812-1813 219 

must have frozen had they been obliged to go 
much distance from their camp-fires. The ' ' Black 
Swamp" through which they travelled during 
the hot weather, and in which they were yet 
dwelling, was rank with intermittent and remit- 
tent fevers which were weakening their systems, 
and making them susceptible to pneumonia and 
typhoid fever. The attacks of the latter were 
facilitated, also, by the fact that the men were 
huddled together to share each other's warmth, 
and had only impure surface water to drink. 
On account of their great distance in the forest, 
the severe and continued rains, and the soft, 
miry condition of the swamps, food could not be 
carried to them in sufficient quantities. Much 
was lost on the way by not over-conscientious 
packhorse men; and much that was delivered was 
in such soiled and spoiled condition as to be un- 
wholesome. At their Camp Number Three, five 
miles down the Maumee from Defiance, the 
sufferings and deaths were the worst. No record 
has been found of the total number of deaths, 
which were several each day; nor have markings 
of the places of their scattered and shallow inter- 
ment been discovered in later years. Captain 
Robert B. M'Afee, and William Atherton, who 
were with this army, recount in their small books 



220 The Ohio Country 

many other details of the sufferings and deaths 
of this unfortunate army; probably among the 
greatest sufferings of their kind that American 
soldiers have endured. 

General Harrison, at this time, had head- 
quarters a Franklinton, now Columbus, Ohio, 
but was often in the saddle, and kept informed 
regarding the condition of affairs generally; and 
he put forth great efforts to gather supplies and 
men, and to advance them toward Detroit. 
He found in his work, other than the difficulty 
of getting supplies forward through a swampy 
wilderness of nearly two hundred miles, in wagons 
or on packhorses which were forced to carry their 
own food also, obstacles which he declared to 
be "absolutely impossible." Different efforts to 
reconnoiter the lower Maumee, and to punish the 
aggressive Savages, were barren of desirable 
results, while increasing the sufferings of the 
soldiers. 

The greatest loss in battle, during this time, was 
suffered in December by Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
bell's expedition from Fort McArthur. This was 
against the Miami and Delaware bands of Abo- 
rigines and extended to the Mississinewa River 
in Indiana. Here the enemy made sharp oppo- 
sition, killing eight Americans, and wounding 



From 1812-1813 221 

forty-two others; also killing one hundred and 
seven horses. The enemy left fifteen of their 
dead on the field. On the return to Ohio, it was 
necessary to carry the wounded on stretchers, 
and on the way three hundred of the American 
soldiers were so frost-bitten as to be unfit for 
duty for several weeks. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE SECOND GREAT DISASTER OF THE WAR OF l8l2 

Advance of General Winchester's Army from Defiance — 
Safe Arrival at Presque Isle below Roche de Bout — 
There Builds Fort Deposit — Unwise Advance of Army 
to the Raisin — Defeat and Massacre — Harrison Gathers 
a New Army and Takes Command — Fort Deposit Aban- 
doned — Fort Winchester again the Frontier Post — 
Fort Meigs Built — Efforts to Strike the Enemy 
Unavailing. 

/^N December 22, 1812, flour and other sup- 
^^ plies, including a partial supply of clothing, 
were received in fairly good condition, com- 
paratively, by General Winchester's army in 
camp near Defiance. Preparations were at once 
made for the advance of all those able to march. 
The sick and convalescent were moved to Fort 
Winchester, and the last days of December, 1812, 
the stronger soldiers started slowly and wearily 
down the north bank of the Maumee River, 
hauling their supplies and equipment by their 



From 1812-1813 223 

own reduced power on sleds that had been hastily 
improvised. A deep snow had recently fallen 
on wet ground that had been made soft by a 
general thaw. The march by day was distressful, 
often through water in the numerous gullies; 
and worse was the protracted difficulty of getting 
fire with flint and steel, when all fuel was sodden 
by rain and melting snow, and the enforced wake- 
fulness from wet clothing and insufficient warmth 
during the freezing nights. 

The army, now reduced to about thirteen hun- 
dred men, arrived at Presque Isle, the starting 
place of Wayne's Battle of Fallen Timber, Jan- 
uary 10, 1813. On the near-by lower ground, a 
cornfield was discovered, which yielded sufficiently 
for a good change of diet for the hungry and nearly 
exhausted men, it being relished at first after 
being hastily boiled whole, mature and hard as it 
was. Here an encampment was planned, and 
fortified to some extent, and a large storehouse 
for provisions and heavy baggage, to be received, 
was built within the stockades. The receipt 
of additional supplies, including clothing, with 
the warmer camp, soon revived the soldierly 
spirit. 

Reports to, and orders from. General Harri- 
son were delayed in transit. This advance and 



224 The Ohio Country 

occupation of the lower rapids of the Maumee 
by Winchester without opposition by the enemy 
was reassuring to the officers and to the ranks; 
and this had much influence in inducing an unwise 
advance to the river Raisin. 

In compliance with several requests for pro- 
tection received from Frenchtown (now Monroe, 
Michigan, then a settlement of thirty-three 
families). Colonel William Lewis, with five hun- 
dred and fifty soldiers, was dispatched January 
17th for that purpose, by General Winchester. 
A few hours later, Colonel John Allen followed 
with a force of one hundred and ten men which 
overtook the former opposite Presque Isle of 
Maumee Bay, where they were informed that there 
were four hundred Aborigines then at Frenchtown, 
and that Colonel Elliott was detaching a force at 
Fort Maiden to proceed against the Americans by 
the Maumee River. These rumors were dis- 
patched to General Winchester, and he sent them 
to General Harrison, together with a statement 
of the movement of his main force against the 
enemy. 

Colonels Lewis and Allen rapidly advanced 
over the ice along the shore of Lake Erie, engaged 
the enemy, about one hundred British troops 
and four hundred Aborigines, near Frenchtown, 



From 1812-1813 225 

and drove them across the river Raisin, not- 
withstanding the opposing howitzer. Winches- 
ter's officers then dispatched for reinforcements, 
and began preparations for defence against on- 
coming superior numbers. 

Upon learning of the success of his colonels, 
Winchester left a guard at his Fort Deposit, and 
started January 19th, with all his remaining 
force, two hundred and fifty in number, for 
Frenchtown, where he arrived in the night of the 
20th. He established head-quarters in the com- 
fortable residence of Colonel Francis Navarre, on 
the south side of the river, about nine hundred 
feet from the camp of his soldiers. The next 
day, he was informed by Peter Navarre and his 
four brothers, whom he sent out to reconnoiter, 
that a large force of British and Aborigines from 
Fort Maiden, about twenty-five miles distant, 
would attack that night. Counter advices, less 
trustworthy, prevailed, however, and no definite 
precautions against a night attack were ordered. 

Very early in the morning of the 2 2d, the brave 
American troops, still weak from their former 
scant rations, disease, and marchings, were 
surprised by the stealthy foe, and were quite 
overwhelmed by superior numbers supported by 
six cannon. In the first onslaught, and in the 

IS 



226 The Ohio Country 

later direct massacre, and by the burning of the 
buildings in which the wounded were placed, 
about three hundred were killed; five hundred 
and forty-seven were taken prisoners by the 
British and forty-five by the Aborigines ; and only 
thirty-three escaped. 

Winchester, aroused by the guns, strove in 
the biting cold to join his men. Mounting his 
host's horse he rode in the direction he supposed 
to be the proper part of their camp. He was soon 
captured by Jack Brandy, an Aborigine of Round 
Head's band, who divested him of his outer 
clothing, and led him half frozen to Colonel 
Proctor, the British commander, who persuaded 
him to order the surrender of his troops. The 
white flag was started with this order towards 
the garden pickets, behind which the Americans 
were well holding their position. They refused 
to surrender. Three times did the flag pass from 
the British head-quarters to the American line, 
once accompanied by Major Overton of Win- 
chester's staff, before the courageous Major 
George Madison would surrender; and he then 
consented only after promises by Proctor of 
protection from the Savages. How these promises 
were ignored by the British, in the case of the 
many soldiers wounded, and captured by the 



From 1812-1813 227 

Savages; and how fully the intoxicated Savages 
revelled in the butchery and eating of their help- 
less victims, leaving the remains to be eaten by 
dogs and hogs, has been described by many 
persons whose writings are readily accessible. 

Most of the American prisoners who could 
march with the British were led to Fort Maiden 
the morning of the 23d. On the 26th, they 
were marched to Sandwich, whence some were 
sent across the river to Detroit, and the others 
to Fort George at Niagara, where nearly all of 
them were released on parole "not to bear arms 
against his Majesty or his allies [the Savages] 
during the war or until exchanged. " Winchester, 
Lewis, and Madison were sent to Quebec and, 
sometime later, to Beauport where they were con- 
fined until the spring of 1814, when they were 
exchanged with many others. 

Colonel Proctor reported the British loss in this 
battle as twenty-four killed and one hundred and 
fifty-eight wounded. No accurate estimate of 
the loss of their allied Savages could be made. 
The enemy numbered about two thousand, 
one half being British regulars and Canadian 
militia. Round Head and Walk-in-the-Water 
were the principal chiefs of the Savages. Te- 
cumseh was then in Indiana. Proctor's report 



228 The Ohio Country 

and commendation of his Savage "allies" led 
the Assembly of Lower Canada to extend to him 
"and his men" a vote of thanks; and the part 
he acted also led to his promotion to the rank 
of Brigadier-General. 

This great disaster at the river Raisin, though 
most deeply lamented, was not without good 
results in its lessons. "Remember the Raisin" 
became the slogan that decided many other men, 
as well as Kentuckians, to enlist in the army, and 
to do valiant service for their country; and it 
also stimulated the officers to greater thought- 
fulness, and to a greater sense of responsibility. 

General Harrison, at Upper Sandusky, upon 
receipt of Winchester's report that he was ad- 
vancing to the Raisin, urged forward troops and 
artillery from his head-quarters, and from Lower 
Sandusky. He preceded the troops and, upon 
his arrival at Fort Deposit, ordered forward 
General Payne, with the garrison there, to the 
support of their General. The cold was severe, 
the snow-covered road was rough, and miry in 
places, and Harrison's troops were slow in arriving 
at the lower rapids. As they arrived in small 
bodies, they were hastened onward toward the 
Raisin, led by General Harrison in person. They 
had not proceeded far, however, before some 



From 1812-1813 229 

fugitives were met who gave the sad report; and 
farther advancement confirmed the total defeat 
of Winchester's command. A council of officers 
in the saddle decided to send scouts forward to 
aid those escaping, and to return all other of the 
scattered small bands to Fort Deposit. 

It was here decided that this fort's position 
was untenable against any formidable force; 
and the troops set fire to the blockhouse the next 
morning and abandoned the fortification. They 
retired to the Portage River, about eighteen 
miles eastward on the road to Lower Sandusky, 
where they strongly fortified an encamp- 
ment, and awaited the oncoming regiments and 
artillery. Copious rains ensued and delayed 
forward movements. 

Fort Winchester again became the frontier po- 
sition of defence in the Maumee Valley, and a 
shield to the forts and the settlers to the south 
and southwest, who were again experiencing 
great alarm. 

Scouts from the Portage River kept the move- 
ments of the Savages under observation. On 
February 9th they reported that about six hun- 
dred were gathered on the north shore of Maumee 
Bay. Harrison detached six hundred soldiers 
with one cannon, and led them in person to the 



230 The Ohio Country 

Savage encampment, which was abandoned by 
the enemy on approach of the Americans. They 
were pursued, but effected safe escape to Fort 
Maiden. 

Harrison's experience with Wayne along the 
^ lower Maumee, and his later observations, led 
him to choose the site for the fort he had decided 
to build, on the high right bank of the Maumee, 
a short distance below the lowest fording place, 
and near the foot v of the lowest rapids; this site 
being across the ravine adjoining (above) the 
present village of Perrysburg, Ohio. The plan 
- was agreed upon with Captain Wood, chief en- 
gineer, to embrace eight blockhouses with double 
timbers, four large batteries, and a fortified en- 
campment twenty-five hundred yards in cir- 
cumference, the lines being irregular on account 
of the slopings of the land. This fortification 
W5-S begun early in February and its completion 
was delayed by the weather, sickness, and the 
heavy work necessary. As it approached com- 
pletion, it was given the name Fort Meigs, in 
honor of Ohio's patriotic and efficient Governor. 

Late in February, ice formed around the 
armed British vessels at Fort Maiden, and a bold 
plan for their destruction was entered upon; 
to be frustrated, however, by the weakening 



From 1812-1813 231 

courage of some of the party and by the thawing 
of the ice. 

The oversight of everything devolved upon 
General Harrison. Soon after the favorable be- 
ginning of Fort Meigs, he started southward to 
urge forward additional troops in person, and to 
visit his sick family at Cincinnati. Captain 
Wood had been sent by him to Lower Sandusky 
to plan a fortification for that place. General 
Leftwich of the Virginia militia, whom Captain 
Wood afterwards called "an old phlegmatic 
Dutchman who was not even fit for a packhorse 
master, much less to be entrusted with such an 
important command" as this, was left in charge 
of the camp and the building of the fort. He 
permitted the work to cease, and, further, per- 
mitted the soldiers to use the gathered timber 
for fuel while there was within easy distance 
much better material for such use, the clearing 
away _ of which was necessary. Captain Wood 
returned the 20th of February to find, also, that 
there had been considerable destruction of the 
work that was done before his departure. 

The time of enlistment of the Virginians, and 
some Pennsylvanians, soon expired, and they 
started for home, leaving only about five hundred 
soldiers at this important encampment. How- 



232 The Ohio Country 

ever, work was resumed with spirit, and the 
encampment limits were extended to embrace 
fourteen acres or more of land, for the purpose 
of encompassing and protecting, in case of being 
besieged, the entire army, horses, cattle, wagons, 
and supplies which were to be centered here. 



CHAPTER XX 

A THIRD GREAT DISASTER IN THE FIRST YEAR OF 
THE WAR 

The Northwestern Army Neglected by the General Govern- 
ment — General Harrison not Distracted by Unwise Ad- 
visers — Investment and Siege of Fort Meigs — Rein- 
forcements for the Fort Disobey Orders — They are 
Surrounded and Captured — Further Massacre and Canni- 
balism by British Allies — The Enemy Raises Siege 
and Retreats. 

A BOUT the first of March, 1813, a small 
■**• party of citizens of Detroit arrived at Fort 
Meigs, and reported that General Proctor had 
ordered the assembling of Canadian militia on 
the 7th of April at Sandwich, preparatory for 
an attack on Fort Meigs; and the mode of at- 
tack, as discussed by the British officers, was 
to be by constructing strong batteries of their 
heaviest cannon on the opposite side of the 
Maumee to be manned by British artillerymen, 
while the Savages were to invest the fort on other 

233 



234 The Ohio Country 

sides. In the opinion of Major Muir " a few hours* 
action of the cannon would smoke the Americans 
out of the Fort into the hands of the Savages." 
Many other boastings were reported. 

British scouts of all kinds continued active in 
the vicinity of Fort Meigs, and hunting for game 
by Americans near by became dangerous. Lieu- 
tenant Walker exposed himself to, and was 
killed by them. 

The Northwestern Army was being neglected 
by Eastern authorities. General Harrison found 
it impossible to get the number and character 
of troops he thought necessary for the work to 
be done. Evil advisers, also, annoyed him, and 
distracted others, by their urging him to scatter 
his insufficient forces ; to increase his work beyond 
the ability of his number to perform; and to 
change his base of operations to a less important 
point, which would leave the most desirable part 
of the country open to the enemy. But the 
General, by his indefatigable energies, succeeded 
in carrying out his desires, excepting in the num- 
ber of soldiers. The fortunate rising of the rivers 
facilitated the receipt of food supplies by boats. 

The gathering of the Savages, Canadian mili- 
tia, and British regular troops, according to 
the agreement of officers before reported, was 



i8i3 235 

observed and reported to Harrison. Fort Meigs 
was strengthened, and supplied, to withstand the 
combined attack that was threatened and now 
appeared inevitable and imminent. Fortunately 
the Savages of the West and Southwest were 
massed with the British, very few being left to 
continue their raids on the frontier settlements. 

On April 28, 18 13, the British army landed 
from numerous boats near the ruins of their 
former Fort Miami, about two miles below, and 
on the opposite (left) bank of the Maumee from 
Fort Meigs, where they made and continued 
their principal encampment on the high ground. 
The Americans were powerless to oppose this 
action, as the Savages had been gathering in 
force around the fort, and soon had it thoroughly 
invested. 

There had been continuous rain, and the efforts 
of the British to move their heavy cannon, and 
construct batteries, were very laborious and at- 
tended with delays. The work was carried for- 
ward first only at night, and later uninterruptedly 
day and night with strong relays, notwithstanding 
the rain, and shots from Fort Meigs which killed 
and wounded some of their men. Cannon were 
also taken across the river to support the Savages, 
who wxre meeting with warm opposition by the 



236 The Ohio Country- 

garrison. Meantime high traverses of earth were 
being thrown up by the garrison, to protect the 
Americans from shots of the enemy from all 
directions; also underground resting places for 
the troops, and refuges from bombs. 

On the early morning of April 30th, the enemy 
had completed two batteries nearly opposite Fort 
Meigs, one battery of two twenty-four-pounder 
cannon (the heaviest at the fort being two 
eighteen-pounders) and the other of three how- 
itzers, one eight inches and the other two five 
and a half inches calibre. Their fire became 
constant. The enemy completed a third battery 
of three twelve-pounder cannon the night of 
May ist, between the other two; also on the 
3d of May a battery of several mortars was put 
in operation by them nearer the river. After 
a few well directed shots from the fort, the 
cannon in the ravine to the eastward were moved 
to a greater range. The strong batteries on the 
opposite side of the river, however, continued 
rapid and carefully directed firing. 

On May 4th, General Proctor sent his Major 
Chalmers with a white flag to demand surrender 
of the fort. General Harrison promptly replied: 
"Tell General Proctor that if he shall take the 
Fort it will be under circumstances that will do 



i8i3 237 

him more honor than a thousand surrenders. " 
That night, about 11 o'clock, Harrison's anxi- 
ety regarding the expected reinforcements was 
largely relieved by the return of his messenger 
Captain Oliver, accompanied by Major David 
Trimble and fifteen soldiers who had evaded 
the Savages. They reported that General Green 
Clay's command, eleven hundred in number, in 
eighteen large flatboats with high sides to protect 
the soldiers from the fire of what Savages they 
might meet, were at the left bank of the IMaumee 
at the head of the Grand Rapids, fourteen miles 
above, the river being so high that the pilot de- 
clined to run the rapids in such a dark night unless 
commanded so to do. 

Captain Hamilton was dispatched to meet 
General Clay, with orders to detach about eight 
hundred men, land them early in the morning 
at a designated point a little above the fort, 
capture the British batteries, spike the guns, and 
come at once to the fort. 

Colonel William Dudley was chosen by General 
Clay for this important work. He and his 
courageous soldiers succeeded in landing well and 
in capturing the guns; but, being desirous to 
inflict punishment upon a band of Savages that 
had opened fire upon them, they forgot the 



238 The Ohio Country 

imperative orders to cross immediately to the 
fort, and pursued the Savages, who led them away 
from the river to be surrounded by overwhelm- 
ing numbers. Of his eight hundred and sixty 
men, only one hundred and seventy escaped to the 
fort. Many were killed, including Colonel Dud- 
ley, in the fierce contest that continued about 
three hours. Many others were wounded, scalped, 
and stripped of clothing by the Savages. Those 
who were captured, and could walk, were started 
for the ruins of the British Fort Miami near the 
enemy's encampment. 

Although now under direct command of the 
British, many were slain by the Savages while 
on this march; and the stripping of Americans, 
dead and alive, of their clothing and other pos- 
sessions was freely indulged. At Fort Miami, 
the prisoners were compelled by the Savages to 
run the gauntlet, where many more were killed 
by the British allies with war clubs, scalping 
knives, tomahawks, and pistols. Major Richard- 
son, of the 41st British Regiment, wrote that 
forty of these prisoners were thus killed before 
the others could be taken on board the gunboats. 
He continues: 

"On. the evening of the second day after this event 
I accompanied Major Muir, of the 41st, in a ram- 



i8i3 239 

ble throughout the encampment of the Indians, 
distant some few hundred yards from our own. 
The spectacle there offered to our view was at once 
of the most ludicrous and revolting nature. In 
various directions were lying the trunks and boxes 
taken from the boats of the American division, and 
the plunderers were busily occupied in displaying 
their riches, carefully examining each article, and 
attempting to define its use. Several were decked 
out in the uniforms of officers; and although em- 
barrassed to the last degree in their movements, and 
dragging with difficulty the heavy military boots 
with which their legs were for the first time covered, 
strutted forth much to the admiration of their less 
fortunate comrades. Some were habited in plain 
clothes; others had their bodies clad with clean white 
shirts, contrasting in no ordinary manner with the 
swarthiness of their skins; all wore some articles of 
decoration, and their tents were ornamented with 
saddles, bridles, rifles, daggers, swords and pistols, 
many of which were handsomely mounted and of 
curious workmanship. Such was the ridiculous part 
of the picture. 

" But, mingled with these in various directions, 
were to be seen the scalps of the slain drying in the 
sun, stained on the flesh side with vermilion dyes, 
and dangling in air as they hung suspended from 
poles to which they were attached, together with 
hoops of various sizes on which were stretched por- 
tions of human skin taken from various parts of the 
human body, principally the hand and foot and yet 
covered with the nails of those parts ; while scattered 
along the ground were visible the members from 
which they had been separated, and which were 



V 



24© The Ohio Country 

serving as nutriment to the wolf-dogs by which the 
Savages were accompanied. 

"As we continued to advance into the heart of 
the encampment a scene of a more disgusting nature 
arrested our attention. Stopping at the entrance 
of a tent occupied by the Minoumini [Menomeni] 
tribe we observed them seated around a large fire 
over which was suspended a kettle containing their 
meal. Each warrior had a piece of string hanging 
over the edge of the vessel, and to this was suspended 
a food which, it will be presumed we heard not with- 
out loathing, consisted of a part of an American. 
Any expression of our feelings, as we declined the 
invitation they gave us to join in their repast, would 
have been resented by the Savages without ceremony 
[sic]; we had, therefore, the prudence to excuse our- 
selves under the plea that we had already taken 
our food, and we hastened to remove from a sight so 
revolting to humanity." 

/ The 5th of May, 18 13, was a sad day at Fort 
Meigs on account of this, the third great loss suf- 
fered by the Army of the Northwest in less than 
one year after the beginning of the War of 1812. 
General Harrison, from his outlook, saw the 
beginning of the fatal error of Colonel Dudley's 
doomed troops. He signalled, repeating his for- 
mer command to come at once to the fort, but 
his signals were lost to the enthusiastic men, 
"whose excessive ardor . . . always the case 
when Kentucky militia were engaged . . . was 



i8i3 241 

the source of all their misfortunes." A volun- 
teer was called for, to convey to Colonel Dudley 
the imperative command of the General to retreat 
to the fort. Lieutenant Campbell responded; but 
he arrived near the farther shore too late. 

The other troops of General Clay's command 
became separated in their efforts to land from the 
rapid current, but, with the aid of a sortie sent 
out by General Harrison, fought their way to the 
fort through the Savages on the right bank of 
the river. 

The spiking of eleven of the British cannon by 
Dudley's command was done, from want of any- 
thing better, with ramrods of their small guns. 
These rods were readily removed by the British 
gunners, who then with them began again a vig- 
orous fire upon the fort. 

The American supply of balls and shells for 
their tw^elve- and eighteen-pounder cannon was 
small, and these guns answered those of the Brit- 
ish only occasionally and to the best advantage. 
To increase the supply a gill of whiskey was offered 
the soldiers for every British ball that could be 
found of these sizes and delivered to the keeper 
of the magazine. 

The free license given the Savages in their 
butcheries and cannibalism of Colonel Dudley 
16 



242 The Ohio Country 

and his brave men sated them, and they began 
to desert their allies, the British. Proctor again 
sent a white flag to demand surrender of the fort. 
The reply was such as to indicate that the de- 
mand was considered an insult by Harrison; and 
upon its receipt the enemy began preparations 
to raise the siege. The efforts to remove the siege 
guns were made dangerous and delayed by the 
American cannon, although the British gunboats 
were sent as near Fort Meigs as practicable to 
divert attention. 

As part of his report to Governor Sir George 
Prevost, Proctor wrote : 

"I had not the option of retaining my position on 
the Miami [Maumee]. Half of the militia had left 
us. . . . Before the ordnance could be withdrawn 
from batteries I was left with Tecumseh and less than 
twenty chiefs and warriors — a circumstance which 
strongly proves that, under present circumstances 
at least, our Indian force is not a disposable one, 
or permanent, though occasionally a most powerful 
aid." 

Governor Prevost reported to his superior 
that the battles on the Maumee "terminated in 
the complete defeat of the enemy, and capture, 
dispersion, or destruction of thirteen hundred 
men." The British loss was reported as fifteen 



i8i3 243 

killed, forty-seven wounded, and forty-four taken 
prisoners. The loss of the Savages was far 
greater, but, as usual, the number was impos- 
sible to obtain. The American loss was eighty- 
one killed and one hundred and eighty-nine 
wounded, of which number seventeen were 
killed and sixty-five wounded within the forti- 
fied enclosure. The Savages took away between 
thirty and forty American prisoners, mostly of 
Dudley's defeated command. 

On May 9th, immediately after the departure 
of the enemy, General Harrison sent out a de- 
tachment to gather all the bodies of the killed 
they could find. The indifference of the British 
in their nominal burying of the dead of Colonel 
Dudley's command, in contradiction of Major 
Richardson's statement, was shown by finding 
fragments of forty-five Kentuckians, which the 
Americans conveyed across the river, and buried 
with the honors of war in the fort's cemetery. 



CHAPTER XXI 

SECOND GREAT EFFORT OF THE ENEMY 
UNAVAILING 

The British Gather More Savage Alhes — More Preparations 
by Americans for Advancing upon the Enemy — Cele- 
bration of Fourth of July by Soldiers in the Forest — 
The Enemy Becoming More Active — Fort Seneca Built to 
Retain Friendship of Aged Aborigines — Second Invest- 
ment of Fort Meigs by Increased Force — Scheme for its 
Capture Unavailing — Second Retreat of Enemy from 
Fort Meigs. ■" 

PROCTOR made a proposition to exchange 
■'• his American prisoners for the Aborigines 
of the frontiers, aged and infirm men, who were 
not prisoners of, or hostile against, the United 
States. Of course such proposition could not 
be entertained ; but Harrison replied that he would 
refer it to the President. 

Tecumseh's and Proctor's emissaries to the 
more distant tribes of Aborigines had gathered 

large numbers of them, and, in June, 1813, more 

244 



/ i8i3 245 

than one thousand of the most savage and de- 
praved were marched by their chiefs and a 
Scotch trader, Dickson, from their rendezvous 
at Chicago to Fort Maiden. Colonel Richard 
M. Johnson, who had left Congress and organized 
a regiment of seven hundred mounted Ken- 
tuckians, was directed to move around the head- 
w^aters of the Auglaize and Maumee. About 
the time of the passing of the western Savages 
through southern Michigan, Colonel Johnson was 
circulating through northern Indiana, meeting 
and dispersing Savages near Fort Wayne and to 
the northwest ; but he did not learn of his nearness 
to the route of the western British reinforcements 
until later, and far distant. 

Meantime supplies were being hastened forward 
with good success, and stored at Fort Winchester 
and other posts convenient for distribution to 
the army which was being prepared for advancing 
against the enemy. Harrison, who was at Frank- 
linton (now Columbus, Ohio), hastening forward 
this work, received an express from General Clay 
at Fort Meigs, informing him that a Frenchman 
whom the British captured at Dudley's defeat 
had escaped from Fort Maiden and informed him 
(Clay) that Proctor was about to make a second 
attack on Fort Meigs with an increased force; 



246 The Ohio Country 

and that he (Clay) had ordered to Fort Meigs 
Colonel Johnson's command, then at Fort Win- 
chester after guarding boatloads of supplies from 
^ Forts Barbee, Wayne, and Amanda. 

Johnson, upon receiving Clay's dispatch in the 
afternoon, although his horses were all much 
worn, and some disabled, by their continuous 
marchings, gave orders for the march down the 
Maumee, and, within half an hour, most of the 
force began to ford the river just above Fort 
Winchester point, leaving with the garrison 
those unable to march. The provisions and bag- 
gage in the boats soon followed the cavalcade, 
and all stopped for the night at General Win- 
chester's Camp Number Three. Early next morn- 
ing, the march was resumed, and they arrived at 
Grand Rapids at five o'clock that evening. Here 
another dispatch was received from General 
Clay cautioning against ambuscade by Savages 
who were lying in wait by their route. This 
information was communicated to the soldiers, 
who seconded the proposal to proceed, notwith- 
standing the enemy. A guard was left at Grand 
Rapids with the boats, which were to continue 
the journey at daylight the next morning, the 
main body resuming the march, and, without 
• serious interruption, arriving opposite Fort Meigs 



i8i3 247 

at ten o'clock, where they encamped for the night. 
The fort's daylight gun so frightened the horses 
that they bolted through the camp, over several 
of the soldiers, hurting them severely, and con- 
tinued to run down the river for a half-mile or 
more, being caught after much trouble and risk. 
About ten o'clock, the command resumed the 
march, and, passing above the foot of the lowest 
rapids, forded the Maumee and encamped just 
above the stockade of Fort Meigs. 

Fort Meigs, itself, was now in better condition 
for defence than at the time of its siege. The 
damages done by the British guns had been re- 
paired, and the walls strengthened; the trees, 
logs, and stumps had been cleared away for a 
greater distance, and the British battery mounds 
levelled. Better drainage and sanitary conven- 
iences had also been established. Notwith- 
standing this improvement, however, the garrison 
had suffered much sickness, and, during June and 
July, intermittent and virulent remittent fevers 
prevailed, which, with dysentery and other com- 
plications, proved largely fatal. There were 
several deaths each day in the small garrison, 
the aggregate being over one hundred in a period 
of six weeks. 

The 24th Regiment United States Infantry 



248 The Ohio Country 

under Colonel Anderson, from Upper Sandusky, 
Captain George Croghan with part of the 17th 
Regiment, and Colonel Ball with his squad of 
cavalry were all hurried forward. 

After ordering these movements by express, 
General Harrison started northward, and, upon 
overtaking Colonel Anderson in the evening of 
June 26th, and learning that Savages were gath- 
ering below Fort Meigs, detached three hundred 
soldiers to make forced march there. Finding 
quiet prevailing to the eastward along Lake Erie, 
Harrison proceeded to Fort Meigs, where he arrived 
the 28th, to find that Johnson also had arrived. 
Johnson was ordered to detach one hundred and 
fifty from his command, and to reconnoitre the 
country to the river Raisin, which was done with- 
out discovering much force of the enemy; but 
this march temporarily thwarted the designs of 
a force of Savages which had been fitted out from 
Fort Maiden to harass the Americans wherever 
possible. 

The extent of frontier under the surveillance 
of General Harrison was great; and it required 
constant watchfulness and great executive ability 
to guard against invasion, and to gather, and keep, 
the means and men for the desired advance 
against the watchful and numerous enemy. 



i8i3 249 

On the ist of July the General again went 
eastward, to arrange the defences and garrisons 
along the Lake to the Cuyahoga River. He 
directed Colonel Johnson to take post at the 
Huron River, in northern Ohio. On Johnson's 
way thither he arrived on the 4th of July at 
Fort Stephenson, where the few soldiers compos- 
ing that garrison were celebrating the National 
Holiday, and, upon their urgent request, he de- 
livered an address that roused their patriotism 
to a high pitch. 

At Fort Meigs, also, there was a grateful cele- 
bration of this anniversary day by firing the 
National Salute; by liberating those who had 
been imprisoned by court-martial ; and by increase 
of rations. And so it was at all the posts of 
the Northwestern Army. Thus, throughout the 
forest, the hearts of the soldiers were cheered, 
and they were made more contented with their 
condition by these simple yet effective wil- 
derness celebrations which gave a renewed and 
a broader significance to their service to their 
country. 

The term of enlistment of some of the garrison 
of Fort Meigs having expired, and they not being 
willing to continue their service, a little diversion 
was planned to start them homeward with good 



250 The Ohio Country 

cheer. General Clay, therefore, issued the fol- 
lowing General Order, dated July 8th, viz. : 

"The commanding General directs that, the Old 
Guard, on being released, will march out of camp 
and discharge their guns at a target placed in some 
secure position ; and as a reward for those who may 
excel in shooting, eight gills of whiskey will be given 
to the nearest shot, and four gills to the second. 
The officer of the guard will cause a return, signed 
for that purpose, signifying the names of the men 
entitled to the reward." 

The Savages were becoming more numerous 
and troublesome along the Maumee River. Four- 
teen soldiers whose term of enlistment had ex- 
pired at Fort Meigs desired to return home by 
way of lFort Winchester. They were attacked 
by Savages early on their journey, and but two 
escaped. Escorts of supply boats were attacked; 
but they inflicted injury upon the enemy. 

Harrison again held council with what Dela- 
ware, Seneca, Shawnee, and Wyandot aged non- 
combatants remained accessible to him, some of 
them being reported as desirous of going to the 
British. In order to more fully stimulate and 
guard their constancy to the United States, he 
established headquarters at the Seneca town, by 
the Sandusky River, nine miles above Lower 



i8i3 251 

Sandusky (now Fremont, Ohio) and nine miles 
below Fort Ball, on the site of the present Tiffin; 
and at this Seneca town he built Fort Seneca 
during the middle and latter part of July, 18 13. 
On July 20th, General Proctor, with an army 
estimated to number at least five thousand, ar- 
rived at the mouth of the Maumee River for 
his second threatened investment of Fort Meigs 
twelve miles above; and the next morning a 
picket guard of a corporal and ten soldiers about 
three hundred yards from Fort Meigs wxre sur- 
prised by Savages, and all but three were killed 
or captured. The number of Savages now with 
the British was evidently greater than they had 
ever before marshalled; and it was probably one 
of the greatest collections of such warriors ever 
assembled in America for war — the number being 
variously estimated at from two to four thousand. 
M'Afee records the number of warriors as about 
two thousand and five hundred, and the number 
of Aborigines fed each day by the British at this 
time from Maiden (now Amherstburg) as seven 
thousand, including the women and children. 
It was also reported that there were with the 
regulars and militia from Maiden, one thousand 
British regulars from Niagara. Undoubtedly 
efforts had been put forth to gather sufficient 



252 The Ohio Country- 

force, in their estimation, to crush the United 
States barriers between them and the liberty 
of the country west of the Allegheny Moun- 
tains, The Savage allies of the British were 
numerously investing Fort Meigs. They suc- 
ceeded in capturing some horses and oxen, but 
their shots were not effective on the garrison, 
while meeting losses themselves. 

Soon after midnight. Lieutenant Mont joy with 
twenty United States troops arrived at the fort 
from the Portage River blockhouse, having es- 
caped the Savages with the loss of one man. 

General Clay had sent Captain McCune of the 
Ohio militia to inform General Harrison of the 
approach of the enemy. This messenger was 
returned to the fort to report that reinforcements 
would soon be forthcoming; and Harrison again 
suggested renewed caution to guard against being 
surprised. 

Lieutenant-Colonel George Paul, with his 
United States Infantry, and Colonel Ball, with 
his dragoons, together numbering four hundred 
and fifty, were ordered forward; also Brigadier- 
Generals McArthur and Cass (who had recently 
been promoted) with their Ohio troops. Five 
hundred additional United States troops were 
approaching from Fort Massac under Colonel 



i8i3 253 

Theodore Dye Owings (Owens?). These, with 
the one hundred and forty regulars who were 
building Fort Seneca, and those at Forts Stephen- 
son and Meigs, would have been a sufficient num- 
ber, perhaps, for the defence of these posts, had 
the distant commands been near. 

General Clay presented a bold front. On July 
23d, he sent Captain McCune with the report 
that about eight hundred Savages were passing 
up the opposite (left) bank of the Maumee, possi- 
bly to attack Fort Winchester. Harrison be- 
lieved, correctly, that this movement was only 
a feint, but, after a council with his staff, scouts 
were sent out; and McCune was sent back to the 
fort with this information, and with further 
precautionary suggestions regarding the wily 
enemy. The sequel proved the wisdom of the 
Commander-in-Chief. 

Accompanied by James Doolan, a French- 
Irish Canadian, McCune arrived near Fort Meigs 
about daybreak, they having lost their way in 
the night. At the edge of the fort's clearing 
they were beset by Savages, who were also on 
horseback, and they were pursued several miles 
up the river; but here, again, the prowess of the 
American backwoodsmen outwitted the Savages. 
They arrived in the fort safely, to report that 



2 54 The Ohio Country 

no more troops could be spared until further 
arrival from those distant, when Harrison would 
march to the support of the fort if necessary. 

The evening of July 24th, Colonel Gaines with 
two hundred soldiers made, from Fort Meigs, a 
detour of the edge of the woods, to reconnoitre 
the enemy and any batteries they might be con- 
structing. A stronger detachment from the Brit- 
ish encampment was started to intercept the return 
of the Americans, but it did not arrive in time 
for an engagement. The British moved their 
main force to the right bank of the river on the 
25th, but did not approach within good range 
of the fort's cannon. 

Proctor and Tecumseh had formulated an in- 
genious strategic plan for the capture of Fort 
Meigs at night, with little destruction of life to 
their commands. The British secreted themselves 
in the deep ravine near the fort to the eastward. 
Tecumseh, with a large number of Savages, 
opened a brisk sham battle along the road to 
Lower Sandusky, as near the fort as practicable, 
to make it appear to the garrison that they were 
attacking an American force coming to reinforce 
the fort. This ruse was for the purpose of draw- 
ing part of the garrison from the fort, to allow 
the British, as with Colonel Dudley's command, 



i8i3 255 

to cut off their return, and leave them to be sur- 
rounded and massacred by the horde of Savages, 
while the British would enter the gates under 
cover of the darkness, take the garrison by sur- 
prise, and thus capture the fort. Many soldiers 
of the garrison desired to sally forth and succor 
their supposed hard-pressed comrades, but the 
firmness of General Clay, supported by the memory 
of repeated cautionings of his Commander-in- 
Chief, prevailed. Rain, and several discharges 
of cannon in the fort, soon put a stop to the sham 
battle. 1 

Remembering their past experience in the 
spring, and noting that the fort was in better 
condition to withstand their attack than for- 
merly, the British departed from Fort Meigs, 
July 27th, without further effort to mislead or 
capture it; having been in its vicinity about 
thirty hours. 

> See account of this ruse by the British Major Richardson 
in the London New Monthly Magazine for December, 1826. 



CHAPTER XXII 

ANOTHER SIGNAL REPULSE OF THE ALLIED ENEMY 

British Surround and Attack Fort Stephenson — They are 
Brilliantly Repulsed by Captain Croghan — They 
again Retreat to Fort Maiden. 

y A FTER retreating from Fort Meigs the second 
•**■ time, a good part of the British force sailed 
around through Lake Erie, through Sandusky 
Bay, and up Sandusky River, to Fort Stephen- 

-' son, expecting to find it an easy prey. Upon 
their arrival they found it already invested by 
their allies, the Savages, who had marched across 

i' from Fort Meigs. 

Here was another illustration of the good 

grasp of the general situation, and of the excellent 

judgment displayed by General Harrison. He 

did not expect, nor fear, that the enemy would 

expend much more effort for the capture of Fort 

Meigs, but he did expect them to direct their 

energies to his defences of the right wing which 

256 



i8i3 257 

possessed large stores, and were not so strongly 
fortified. 

Their investment of Fort Stephenson the first 
and second days of August, and their repulse 
by that garrison of but one hundred and sixty 
men with but one small cannon, under command 
of the brilliant, young (about twenty-one years 
of age), courageous, and most patriotic Captain 
(aftenvards Major) George Croghan, nephew of 
General William Clark, is one of the most re- 
markable events in the War of 1812. It was 
preposterous to presume that such small garrison 
in such weak fortification could withstand such 
a large, well-equipped, and experienced investing 
force; hence General Harrison had ordered young 
Croghan to bum the small amount of stores with 
the fort and take the garrison to Fort Seneca ^ 
if the enemy approached. But Captain Croghan 
was surrounded by Savages before the British 
appeared, and he, and his garrison, preferred to 
die at their posts, if die they must, rather than be 
massacred by the Savages in an effort to escape. 
This determination, and their alertness, with 
good judgment in taking advantage of every 
opportunity, led to one of the most brilliant 
victories of American arms, with the loss of but 
one man killed and seven slightly wounded, while 
17 



/ 



258 The Ohio Country 

inflicting a loss on the enemy of one hundred and 
twenty. 

Late in the afternoon of August ist, the British 
gunboats and troops came through Sandusky 
Bay and up Sandusky River to within sight of 
Fort Stephenson. They had made sure against 
retreat of the garrison, and to interce t rein- 
forcements. Captain Croghan was summoned 
to surrender, but he repHed that he and the garri- 
son were determined to defend the fort. After 
some parleying by the British, with efforts to 
intimidate, their cannon and howitzers for 
twenty-four hours threw balls and shells; with 
little effect, however, until they concentrated 
on the northwest angle of the fort, evidently 
to form a breach for assault. The effect of their 
shot was here guarded against to some extent by 
bags of sand and sacks of flour being piled against 
the stockade. The single six-pounder cannon in 
the fort was fired only at long intervals on account 
of the scanty supply of ammunition. 

Toward the evening of August 2d an assailing 
party of the British advanced in the direction 
expected, and to command which the only cannon 
had been placed, masked, and doubly charged 
with slugs and grape-shot. At an opportune 
moment, when the first column of the enemy had 



i8i3 259 

advanced into the ditch within ten or fifteen paces 
of the six-pounder, the masked port was opened 
and the cannon discharged with dire effect. The 
second column, that advanced to take the place 
of their fallen comrades, soon met great loss and 
confusion from the small arms of the garrison, 
which completed the disastrous work of the 
defence in this quarter. The remnant of the 
assailing columns retreated precipitately and in 
confusion. Two hundred grenadiers, who were to 
assail the south side of the fort, did not attain 
their position until later. They were so warmly 
opposed by the small arms of the garrison that 
they soon withdrew. 

During the night, which was now come. Gen- 
eral Proctor sent Savages to gather the wounded 
and dead, which they did with those without the 
range of the garrison's muskets in the darkness. 
About daylight the British and their savage 
allies departed from the river and bay, leaving 
a small vessel containing clothing and military 
stores, their retreat being hastened by reports 
of rallying Americans from Fort Seneca. 

The garrison supplied the wounded enemy 
with water, at first in pails let down outside the 
stockade, and later through an opening made 
tinder two stockade timbers, through which the 



26o The Ohio Country 

wounded were singly taken within the enclosure 
and well cared for. The British left behind of 
their dead, three officers and twenty- five privates; 
and of their wounded, twenty-six who were taken 
prisoners. 

Scouts were sent early in the morning down 
the river and bay; but no enemy was discovered 
other than a few straggling British soldiers who 
were surprised and captured by the Wyandot 
Aborigine scouts, recently admitted to the Amer- 
ican army, who quickly delivered them at head- 
quarters. These prisoners evidently expected to 
be massacred like the American prisoners cap- 
tured by the British allies; and their trepidation 
and anxiety produced much merriment among 
their captors, who enjoyed the recollection of it 
for a long time. 

General Proctor sent his army surgeon. Banner, 
to Fort Stephenson to inquire after his wounded 
soldiers. This messenger was treated courteously 
and given every opportunity for personal exam- 
ination; which was in great contrast to the treat- 
ment by the British of Surgeon McKeehan of the 
Ohio militia, who was sent by General Harrison 
to Amherst burg, January 31, 18 13, to inquire 
after the wounded of General Winchester's army, 
following the sad defeat and massacre at the river 



i8i3 261 

Raisin. After receiving much discourteous treat- 
ment, Surgeon McKeehan was arrested by order 
cf Proctor and sent to a dungeon at Montreal. 

Harrison was informed that many of the Sav- 
ages with the British were discouraged and dis- 
satisfied with the war after their failures at Fort 
Meigs and their repulse at Fort Stephenson. 
He therefore sent to them at Brownstown, below 
Detroit, some of his most confidential Wyandot 
chiefs, to confer with Chief Walk-in-the-Water, 
and the Wyandot warriors under him, for the 
purpose of spreading the disaffection toward the 
British, and to secure their neutrality. Such 
were the alertness and discipline of the British, 
however, that Colonel McKee and Captain Elliott 
were at once notified of the visit and were present 
to prevent or neutralize the proposition. There- 
upon the British renewed their work among the 
Aborigines, extending it to the neutrals by the 
headwaters of the Auglaize River, the St. Marys, 
and the Miami to the southward. 

The signal success of Captain Croghan at Fort 
Stephenson ended the invasion of Ohio by the 
British. General Harrison renewed his efforts to 
carry the war into the enemy's country; and these 
efforts soon resulted in driving the British from 
western Ontario. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE ENTIRE FORCE OF THE BRITISH ON LAKE ERIE 
CAPTURED 

Renewed Efforts for Squadron of Armed Vessels Successful — 
Oliver H. Perry Builder and Commander — His Diffi- 
culties — He Sails for the Enemy — Communicates with 
Harrison — Meets and Captures All of the British Squad- 
ron — Perry's Despatches after the Battle — The Killed 
and Wounded — Description of Squadrons. 

T^HE early suggestions of General Hull for a 
*• United States fleet or squadron of armed 
vessels on Lake Erie were reported upon favor- 
ably, and, in the spring of 1812, Commodore 
Stewart took action for this purpose. There was, 
however, but little result from this effort. In 
September, 1812, Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott was 
sent to Black Rock, now part of the city of 
Buffalo, for the purpose of building such vessels. 
On October 8th two armed vessels, the Detroit 
and Caledonia, arrived from the British at De- 
troit, and anchored under the guns of Fort Erie, 

262 



From 1 8i 2-1 813 263 

across the Niagara River from, and a little above 
Black Rock. Lieutenant Elliott planned their 
capture at night, and, with the aid of Lieutenant- 
Colonel (afterward General) Winfield Scott, he 
succeeded, after a series of remarkable experiences 
and narrow escapes. The Detroit was partly 
built by General Hull, and went to the British 
with his surrender of the fort at Detroit; and her 
first name, Adams, was changed by her captors. 
The British rallied in such force, and so per- 
sistently, from Fort Erie to her relief against 
Lieutenant Elliott's attack and capture, that the 
Americans burned her on the Niagara River to 
prevent her recapture. They were more suc- 
cessful in getting the Caledonia away from the 
British. Little was accomplished on new vessels, 
however. 

General Harrison had urged the building of 
vessels sufficient to cope with the increasing 
British squadron. This work was seriously under- 
taken in the spring of 18 13 under the direction 
of Commodore Isaac Chauncey. This officer 
settled upon Master-Commander Oliver Hazard 
Perry, of Newport, Rhode Island, to produce the 
desired squadron. Erie, Pennsylvania, the his- 
toric Presque Isle, had been selected as the place 
of rendezvous, and Commander Perry arrived 



264 The Ohio Country- 

there for the work March 27, 18 13. The work, 
already \veU begun, now progressed rapidly. 
j/ The British Fort George, by the Niagara River, 
was captured on May 27th, Perry there acting 
an important part. The Niagara frontier now 
being free from the enemy, five small vessels 
(the Caledonia, the small brig captured at Fort 
Erie, three schooners named the Somers, Tigress, 
and Ohio, that had been purchased, and a sloop, 
the Trippe) were thus liberated from service on 
the upper Niagara River, and were taken by 
Perry to his rendezvous at Erie, barely evading 
on the way the British squadron that was looking 
for them. 

Many obstacles and delays attended Commander 
Perry's efforts; and when his boats were ready 
(they being, in addition to those previously 
named, the Lawrence, flagship, and Niagara, both 
twenty-gun brigs, and the schooners Scorpion, 
Porcupine, and Ariel, which was clipper-modelled) 
there were only men enough at hand to officer and 
man one of the brigs, despite the Commander's 
importunities for men sufficient to enable him to 
proceed against the enemy. While in this pre- 
dicament Perry was annoyed- — almost taunted — 
by letters from the Naval Department and from 
General Harrison, urging him to proceed against 



From 1812-1813 265 

the enemy; also by the British squadron remain- 
ing in sight of his Erie harbor, threatening to 
attack him. A few men came straggHng in, "a 
motley set, blacks, soldiers, and boys," and there 
was much sickness among them. 

The second movement of the British against 
Fort Meigs, described on preceding pages, oc- 
curred at this time, and the British vessels moved 
from the offing to the west end of Lake Erie in 
support of it. 

Master-Commander Perry's force increased, 
by volunteers of frontiersmen and soldiers, until 
at the close of July it numbered about three hun- 
dred. On August ist, it was decided to get his 
ten vessels from Erie harbor into the Lake, but, 
owing to the shallow water on the bar, five days 
elapsed before his largest vessels, when empty, 
were floated across by great efforts, and buoying 
with "camels."^ 

Immediately after the vessels were in deep 
water, with their armament and stores placed, 
some of the British vessels appeared to the west- 
ward on their return. The Ariel and Scorpion 

" Large scows filled with water and placed one on each side 
of the vessel. Upright timbers from the scows support 
horizontal ones through, and against, the upper parts of the 
forward and after portholes of the vessel, then the water is 
pumped from the scows to buoy the vessel. 



2 66 The Ohio Country 

were sent forward, and, upon their exchanging 
a few shots, the British Captain, Robert H. Bar- 
clay, turned his vessels around and retreated to 
Amherstburg. 

The sailing and manoeuvering qualities of Perry's 
squadron were then tried, and the mixed crews 
of amateur, inexperienced seamen were given 
some much-needed practice and discipline. On 
August 9th, Captain Jesse D. Elliott joined Com- 
mander Perry at Erie, with about one hundred 
officers and men of some experience, and he was 
given command of the Niagara. 

The squadron left Erie on the 12th of August, 
1 8 13, and sailed toward the western part of Lake 
Erie. On the 15th, anchors were cast in a pleas- 
ant island harbor, that was soon to be christened 
by this naval force as Put-in-Bay, and have an 
honored record in American history. 

Communications with General Harrison had 
been continued, and on the i6th of August Perry 
sailed toward the south shore, and, when off the 
mouth of Portage River on the 17th, he fired the 
signal guns agreed upon as notice to the General 
of his approach. Direct communications were 
established; and on the 19th, Generals Harrison, 
Cass, and McArthur, escorted by a company from 
the 28th Regiment United States Infantry, under 



From 1812-1813 267 

Colonel Owings (Owens ?) of Kentucky, and John- 
son's regiment of cavalry, together with all the 
seamen that could readily be found among the 
troops, and twenty landsmen volunteers, under 
Lieutenant Coburn of Payne's company, started 
to visit Perry on board the flagship Lawrence. 
These mixed crews were the best that could be 
secured to bring the number near to that necessary 
to man the different vessels. 

They sailed on the 20th, to Put-in-Bay, to 
examine the island as a prospective station for 
the army in its advance against Amherstburg 
and Fort Maiden. 

Commander Perry kept under observation the 
British vessels, now all in the Detroit River, but 
unfavorable winds and much disability among his 
men, many of whom were prostrated with re- 
mittent fever, which serious disease he was also 
experiencing, prevented his attacking them. On 
the 31st, Harrison reinforced the naval squadron 
with thirty-six more men. On September ist. 
Perry again moved to a point within sight of the 
enemy's squadron, but it was arranged under 
cover of the strong shore batteries, and would 
not answer his challenge. 

The British had been building at Amherstburg 
a vessel, the Detroit, larger than any of those 



268 The Ohio Country 

under Perry's command. At the time of her 
completion, provisions had become scarce at 
Amherstburg, and, on Friday the loth of Septem- 
ber, the British squadron was obHged to move 
eastward for suppUes. The vessels were early 
sighted by the Americans, who decided to give 
battle, and prepared accordingly. Perry hoisted 
on his flagship, the Lawrence, his battle-flag 
bearing the dying command of Captain Lawrence 
in the contest of the Chesapeake with the Shannon, 
"Dont Give up the Ship. " 

The battle was begun by a long-range gun of 
the Detroit, the missile falling short of its mark. 
Perry reserved his fire for short range. His 
flagship was the target for most of the enemy's 
shot, and the results to the brig and crew were 
widespread and direful. All of her guns became 
dismounted or useless, and only fourteen unhurt 
men remained, and only nine of these were seamen. 
The room below, to which the wounded had been 
taken, was above the water line and the enemy's 
shot frequently passed through it, continuing 
the work of destruction of life as well as of 
vessel. 

Being unable to do more in the Lawrence, Perry 
ordered a boat lowered while putting on his full 
uniform, and, giving the Lawrence in charge of 



From 1812-1813 269 

Lieutenant Yamell, with discretionary powers, 
he, with his small brother and four oarsmen, 
entered the boat and passed to the Niagara. He 
persisted in standing most of the fifteen minutes 
required to make the transit, and was the target 
of many British guns, large and small. 

Taking command of the Niagara, Perry sent 
Lieutenant Elliott in a small boat to bring into 
close action the more distant vessels, and, raising 
the Commodore pennant, he changed the course of 
his present flagship and broke through the British 
line, pouring at short range, w^th disastrous 
effect, the full force of the guns right and left into 
the disconcerted enemy. The other American 
vessels followed their leader, and, in eight minutes 
after the Niagara passed through the line, the 
four principal British vessels surrendered. The 
other two, the Chippewa and Little Belt, attempted 
to escape, but the Scorpion and Trippe, giving 
chase, soon brought them back to American 
possession. 

Lieutenant Yarnell lowered the colors of the 
Lawrence soon after the departure of Perry, and 
the fire of the British was thereafter directed 
elsewhere. They were too busy in protecting 
themselves, however, to take charge of the 
wreck. 



270 The Ohio Country 

Immediately after the surrender of the British, 
were written with a firm hand those model de- 
spatches which have been familiar to all students 
of history; the first to General William H. Harri- 
son, viz. : 

"Sir: We have met the enemy and they are ours: 
Two Ships, two Brigs, one Schooner, and one Sloop. 
" Yours with great respect and esteem, 

"O. H. Perry." 

"U. S. Brig Niagara, off the Western Sister 
[Island] 
"Head of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813, 4 p.m. 
"Sir: 

" It has pleased the Almighty to give to the arms of 
the United States a signal victory over their enemies 
on this lake. The British squadron, consisting of 
two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop, 
have this moment surrendered to the force under 
my command after a sharp conflict. 

" I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, 
"Your obedient servant, 

"O. H. Perry. 
"Honorable William Jones, 
"Secretary of the Navy.'' 

Commander Perry decided to receive the formal 
surrender of the British officers on board the 
disabled Lawrence, which he did, they wending 
their way between the dead Americans whose 



From 1 812-18 13 271 

bodies yet remained on the deck. .The British 
commander, Captain Barclay, was wounded and 
unable to be present. 

At twilight, the non-commissioned dead, of 
friend and foe, enveloped in shrouds, with cannon 
balls at their feet, were dropped one by one into 
the lake, after the reading of the burial service 
of the Episcopal Church. This sad service being 
completed, the vessels slowly made their way 
to that beautiful bay which has since been known 
as Put-in-Bay; and the dead officers were buried 
on the land which received the name Put-in-Bay 
Island. The losses were: American, twenty- 
seven killed and ninety-six wounded, of whom 
twenty-two killed and sixty-one wounded were 
aboard the Lawrence; British, forty-one killed 
and ninety-four wounded. 

There are varying reports regarding the rela- 
tive strength of the contending squadrons. The 
British had six vessels carrying sixty-three car- 
riage guns, one on pivot, two swivels, and four 
howitzers. The Americans had nine vessels with 
fifty-four carriage guns and two swivels. The 
British squadron had thirty-five long guns and 
the American fifteen, which explains the advantage 
of the former in the early part of the action. In 
close action the weight of metal was favorable 



272 



The Ohio Country 



to the Americans. The British crews possessed 
far more naval experience than the American. ^ 

This capture of the entire British squadron 
on these waters, the first instance in the history 
of America's brilHant successes on the water, had 
a very depressing effect on the British and their 
savage alHes, and correspondingly opposite effect 
upon all three of the American armies (North- 
western, Central, and Eastern) , and upon the entire 
populace as well. This was the continued work 
of young officers, Perry being but twenty-seven 
years of age, and his subordinates much younger. 

Perry was immediately promoted to a Cap- 
taincy, and Congress gave him a vote of thanks 
and a medal. 



' AMERICAN SQUADRON, MASTER-COMMANDER OLIVER HAZARD 
PERRY 



Name of 
Vessel 


Rigging 


u 




do 


m C 

•g 3 

« 

300 

300 

80 

48 

64 

S6 

32 
32 

24 

936 


Armament 


Lawrence 
Niagara 
Caledonia 
Ariel 

Scorpion 
Somers 

Porcupine 

Tigress 

Trippe 


Brig 

Brig 

Brig 

Schooner 

Schooner 
Schooner 

Schooner 

Schooner 

Sloop 


480 
480 
1 80 
112 

86 
94 

83 
96 
60 


136 
155 
53 
36 

35 
30 

25 

27 
35 J 


105 

127 
184 


2 Long I2S, 18 Short 32s. 
2 Long I2S, 18 Short 32s. 
2 Long 24s, I Short 32. 
4 Long I2S, (i burst 
early). 
I Long 32, I Short 32. 
I Long 24, I Short 32, 

2 Swivels. 
I Long 32. 
I Long 32. 
I Long 24. 


9 Vessels 




1,671 


532 


416 


S4 Guns, 2 Swivels. 



The schooner Ohio had gone to Erie for supplies. 



From 1812-1813 



273 



Captain (acting Commodore) Barclay, in his 
report to the British government, expressed high 
praise of Commander Perry for his thoughtful 
and kind attention to the wounded and the 
prisoners, and for his magnanimity. He not 
only declined to take the swords from the sur- 
rendering officers, but he loaned them one thou- 
sand dollars to be expended for their comfort. 

The prisoners who were able to travel were 
taken to Pittsburg by way of the Sanduskys and 
Franklinton. The wounded and sick were taken 



BRITISH SQUADRON, CAPTAIN-COMMANDER ROBERT HERIOT 
BARCLAY 



Name of 


Rigging 


u 


& 


4) 


Armament 


Vessel 









u 

pa 




Detroit 


Ship 


490 


ISO 


138 


I Long 18, 2 Long 24s. 6 Long 
I2S, I Short 18, I Short 24, 
8 Long 9s, I Gun on Pivot, 
2 Howitzers. 


Queen 












Charlotte 


Ship 


400 


126 


189 


I Long 12, 2 Long 9s, 14 Short 
24s, and I Howitzer. 


Hunter 


Brig 


180 


4S 


.^0 


4 Long 6s, 2 Long 4s, 2 Long 


Lady 
Prevost 










2S, 2 Short 12s. 


Brig 


230 


86 


7S 


I Long 9, 2 Long 6s, 10 Short 












I2S. andi Howitzer. 


Chippewa 


Schooner 


70 


15 


9 


r Long 9, and 2 Swivels. 


Little Belt 


Sloop 


90 


18 


18 


I Long 12, and 2 Long 6s. 


6 Vessels 




1,460 


440 


4S9 


64 Guns, 4 Howitzers, 2 Swivels 



Compare Official Letters of the Military and Naval Officers of the United 
States during the War with Great Britain in the Years 1812, 1813, 1814, and 
tSiS, by John Brannan, Washington, 1823, page 207; Lossing's War O' 
1S12, page 520; and The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt, voL 
i., pages 311 , 312. 
18 



2 74 The Ohio Country 

to Erie in the hospital vessels, the Detroit, Queen 
Charlotte, and Niagara. It not being practicable 
to repair the two first named vessels, they were 
left in Little Bay, Erie harbor, where they finally 
went to the bottom, followed a few years later 
by the Niagara which had meantime been doing 
good service as a receiving ship. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE AMERICANS SEEK THE BRITISH AT FORT 
MALDEN 

Definite Preparations for the Invasion of Canada — Observ- 
ance of the Day of Fasting and Prayer — A Sham Battle 
— Enthusiastic Enlisting in Kentucky for the Invasion — 
Aged Aborigine Warriors Join the Ranks — The Crossing 
of Lake Erie — Arrival at Fort Maiden — Found Deserted 
and Fired by the Enemy. 

r^OLONEL RICHARD M. JOHNSON'S regi- 
^-^ ment of mounted infantry being recalled 
from the southwest, where it had been inadvert- 
ently sent by the Secretary of War, was ordered 
to escort the army supplies down the St. Marys, 
Auglaize, and Maumee rivers, from Forts Barbee, 
Amanda, and Winchester. During its sojourn 
in Kentucky this regiment had been recruited to 
over full numbers, and, by the aid of Lieutenant- 
Colonel James Johnson, brother of the Colonel, 
the discipline was brought to a high state. 

About the ist of September, with a train of 
27s 



276 The Ohio Country 

thirty wagons, and a brigade of packhorses, 
they started northward and arrived at Fort 
Winchester on the 9th, the day appointed by 
President Madison for fasting, humihation, and 
prayer, according to Act of Congress. Captain 
Robert B. M'Afee, who was present, writes in 
his Httle book on the war, that: 

"Those who chose to observe the day in that manner 
were encouraged to do so; and although there is in 
general but little religion to be found in the army, 
yet in the evening of this day a number of little 
parties were seen in different parts of the lines paying 
their devotions to the God of armies, and chanting 
His praises with plainness, sincerity, and zeal; whilst 
their less pious but moral and orderly compatriots 
preserved around them the strictest order and de- 
corum. A pleasing tranquillity pervaded the ranks, 
and the patriot soldier seemed to feel a cheering con- 
fidence that the God of battles would shield him in 
the hour of danger." 

Before continuing the march, a spirited and 
valuable disciplinary sham battle was fought in 
the vicinity of Fort Winchester, between the 
infantry and cavalry, in which the horses par- 
ticipated with but little less zest than their riders ; 
and they were thus taught not to fear the noise and 
smoke of the guns of the infantry as their riders 
directed the rapid charge between their ranks. 



i8i3 277 

General Harrison had invited the venerable 
Governor Isaac Shelby, the Revolutionary hero 
of King's Mountain, South Carolina, in 1781, to 
accompany his Kentucky troops to the invasion 
of Canada ; and this invitation was accepted. 
Announcement that the Governor would be pres- 
ent on the march, and in the field, caused great 
enthusiasm in Kentucky, and nearly double the 
number of volunteers called for responded; thus 
giving General Shelby the proud command of 
about three thousand mounted men, exclusive of 
Colonel Johnson's regiment. The United States 
Arsenal at Newport was emptied of arms, and 
many of these troops were supplied at the San- 
duskys, they coming through Ohio along the 
course of the right wing of the Northwestern 
Army. 

Upon the arrival of General Shelby and staff 
at Fort Ball, they learned of Perry's victory. 
A despatch was at once sent to Major-General 
Henry, in command of the advancing reinforce- 
ments at Upper Sandusky, to hasten forward 
the troops. Shelby met Harrison at Fort Seneca, ' 
and, passing onward, they arrived on the 14th 
of September at the mouth of the Portage River, 
the site of the present Port Clinton, Ohio; and 
during the next two days the troops arrived. 



278 The Ohio Country 

General McArthur, with his force, was ordered 
to take command of Fort Meigs, and to dehver 
orders to General Clay, there in command, to 
move his troops to the mouth of the Portage 
River, where the advancing Kentuckians were to 
gather. McArthur was also ordered to embark ar- 
tillery and provisions from Fort Meigs (which 
would then be reduced to the principal block- 
houses in the southwest comer of the enclosure) 
to join the consolidating army on the Lake; and 
to carry orders to Colonel Johnson to go along 
the left bank of the Maumee River, Bay, and 
Lake Erie, keeping abreast of the boats. Thus 
all of the Northwestern Army that could be 
spared from garrison and guard duty was mo- 
bilized and concentrated. 

The army also now embraced two hundred and 
sixty aged Aborigine warriors of the Wyandot, 
Shawnee, and Seneca tribes which Harrison had 
been placating. As a result of the efforts of the 
British to get these tribes also as allies, and of 
the desire of the Aborigines to be engaged in the 
strife, the United States government decided to 
enlist all who would come into its service, but 
with the injunction and full understanding on 
their part, that they must conform to the modes 
of civilized warfare. Harrison instructed and 



i8i3 279 

enjoined them that they must not kill, or injure, 
defenceless prisoners, old men, women, or children ; 
and, if those fighting with him would forbear 
such conduct it would prove that the British could 
also restrain the Aborigines with them if they 
desired so to do. He greatly pleased them by hu- 
morously telling them that, inasmuch as he had 
been informed that General Proctor had promised 
to deliver him (General Harrison) into the hands of 
Tecumseh if he succeeded in capturing Fort Meigs, 
to be treated as that warrior might desire, he would 
promise to let them have Proctor as their prisoner, 
if they could take him, provided they would only 
put petticoats on him and treat him as a squaw. 
These Aborigines accompanied the American 
army into Canada, and, presumably, were present 
at the Battle of the Thames, but no savage act 
has been imputed to them, nor to those who were 
subsequently subject to American command. This 
has been taken as additional evidence, that, if the 
British officers did not directly instigate, they at 
least willingly permitted, the massacres of prisoners 
who had surrendered, not to the Savages but to 
themselves; this, too, after their promise of protec- 
tion. And they are held responsible for such acts. * 

« See History of the War of 1812, page 303, by R. B. M'Afee, 
an active participant. 



28o The Ohio Country 

General Harrison was much in the saddle, 
personally attending to delinquents, and to busi- 
ness of a general nature. On September 2 2d, he 
addressed a note from Franklinton to Governor 
Meigs, in part as follows: 

" Be pleased to send a company of one hundred men 

y to Fort Meigs. Thirty or forty will do for Lower 

Sandusky. I am informed that the term of enlist- 

1/ ment of the garrison at Fort Findlay will expire on 

the 2 2d instant. Will you be pleased to order 

there twenty or thirty men ? ..." 

The army commenced to embark for the 
advance, at the mouth of Portage River, on 
September 20th. The vessels under command 
of Captain Perry were used as transports, ex- 
cepting the wrecks Lawrence, Detroit, and Queen 
Charlotte, which contained the wounded, and 
sick, they now being airy and good hospitals. 
All of these vessels were viewed with great interest 
by the soldiers, many of whom from the interior 
country had never before seen such broad water 
and such large boats; and the many marks they 
bore of the fierce battle were associated with the 
thoughts of the complete victory of American 
arms they represented, to the enthusiasm of the 
soldiers who grew impatient for an opportunity 



i8i3 281 

to show their prowess in battle for their country's 
honor. 

All the horses, even those of the officers, were 
left on the mainland. 

It required four days to transport, by the 
slow-moving sail vessels, the army of nearly five 
thousand men, with armament and supplies, to 
Put-in-Bay Island. On the 25th, encampment 
was made on Middle Sister Island which, being 
but about six acres in size, afforded only close 
quarters. 

Harrison, in company with Perry on the Ariel, 
reconnoitred the enemy at Fort Maiden and at 
Amherstburg, and returned in time to issue a Gen- 
eral Order to embark against them the next morn- 
ing. This Order contained the following request : 

"The General entreats his brave troops to remember 
that they are sons of sires [soldiers of the Revolu- 
tionary War] whose fame is immortal; that they are 
to fight for the rights of their insulted country, whilst 
their opponents combat for the unjust pretensions of 
a master. Kentuckians, remember the River Raisin, 
but remember it only whilst the victory is suspended. 
The revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified upon a 
fallen foe. 

"By command, Robert Butler, 
"Acting Adjutant-General." ^ 

» The sad massacre of Kentuckians at the River Raisin 
nine months previous to this date by the savage allies of 



282 The Ohio Country 

The weather continued favorable, and, after 
seven hours' sailing, in sixteen armed vessels and 
nearly one hundred smaller boats, the army 
landed about four o'clock in the afternoon, Sep- 
tember 27, 18 13, on the sandy shore of Canada, 
about three miles below Amherstburg and the 
/ ill-famed Fort Maiden. 

There was no enemy found to dispute the land- 



the British had, Hke most stirring events in war, been 
commemorated in song. A stanza of one of the songs often 
heard around the camp-fires of the Northwestern Army, 
runs as follows: 

"Freemen! no longer bear such slaughters; 
Avenge your country's cruel woe; 
Arouse, and save your wives and daughtersi 
Arouse and smite the faithless foe! 

Chorus: 

" Scalps are bought at stated prices, 
Maiden pays the price in gold.'' 

The British policy toward the Colonies, and also toward 
the United States, had been, as expressed in the New Quarterly 
Review and British Colonial Register, No. 4, London, following 
Perry's victory, as follows, viz.: "... We dare assert, and 
recent events have gone far in establishing the truth of the 
proposition, that the Canadas cannot be effectually and 
durably defended without the friendship of the Indians and 
command of the lakes and the River St. Lawrence. . . . We 
must consider the interest of the Indians as our own; for 
men whose very name is so formidable to an American, and 
whose friendship has recently been shown [in the Savage 
massacres of Winchester's and Dudley's troops surrendered 
to the British] to be of such great importance to us, we cannot 
do too much. ..." 



i8i3 283 

ing, or the entrance into the town. The British 
troops and their savage alHes had hastily de- 
parted, after setting fire to the army and navy 
buildings, and to all the public stores they could 
not carry away. A detachment of troops was 
hurried forward, and they prevented the de- 
struction of bridges. Upon inquiring among the 
few people left in the town for horses on which 
to mount the general officers, it was ascertained 
that Proctor had taken them all, more than one 
thousand in number; but one small pony was found 
and taken for General Shelby's use. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE BRITISH PURSUED, AND CAPTURED AT THE 
THAMES 

Pursuit of the British through Canada — Detroit Recovered 
by Americans, who Hasten to Complete Victory at 
the Thames— Aborigines Desert their AlHes and Flock 
to the Americans — General Cass Appointed Military and 
Civil Governor of Michigan Territory — Name of De- 
troit's Fort Changed to that of Shelby — Kentucky 
Troops Return Home by Way of the Raisin. 

f EAVING Colonel Smith's regiment of riflemen 
■'— ' at Amherstburg, to guard the small boats 
left behind, and to guard the town from prowling 
Savages, the Americans pressed forward the next 
morning ; and soon after midday they arrived at 
Sandwich. Captain Perry's squadron arrived in 
the river opposite, about the same time as did 
the troops. 

General McArthur, with seven hundred men, 
was sent across the river to Detroit, to guard 
against the large number of Savages reported in 

284 



From 1813-1814 285 

the woods near by; and they drove away a band 
of Savages from the town, and found that De- 
troit's Fort Lernoult had been abandoned, and 
partly burned; and that the fire had been ex- 
tinguished by the citizens who now generally 
welcomed the Americans. 

A few days later, the Aborigines who had 
become discouraged by the British disasters, 
and did not follow Proctor's retreating columns — 
the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawotamis, Miamis, 
and Kickapoos — came to McArthur for peace 
and he reported that he had agreed with them 
that hostilities should cease for the present on 
their " agreeing to take hold of the same tomahawk 
with us, and to strike all who are or may be 
enemies of the United States, whether British or 
Indians. They are to bring in a number of their 
women and children and leave them as hostages 
whilst they accompany us to war. Some of them 
have already brought in their women, and are 
drawing rations. " The Wyandots were soon 
added to the above mentioned tribes suing for 
peace; but no effort was made to marshal them 
against the British. 

The martial law that had been enforced by 
the British at Detroit was now declared ended 
by proclamation of General Harrison, who also 



/ 



286 The Ohio Country 

reproclaimed the civil government of the Terri- 
tory of Michigan, which ended with the surrender 
of Hull in June, 1812. 

Colonel Johnson's regiment arrived at Detroit, 
September 30th, with four pieces of light field 
artillery from Fort Meigs, and they were ordered 
across the river. A council of officers decided 
to continue the pursuit of the British by land 
rather than by water. McArthur and his brigade 
remained at Detroit; a brigade and one regiment 
were left at Sandwich, and the other part of the 
army, numbering about three thousand and five 
hundred, having obtained horses in addition to 
those of Johnson's regiment, started again the 
2d of October on the track of the retreating 
British. Captain Perry took the heavy baggage 
and much of the supplies on some of his vessels 
to the mouth of the Thames River on Lake St. 
Clair; and he there learned, that some small 
vessels with the British cannon and heavy baggage 
had just escaped him, and passed up the river 
beyond where his vessels could go. 

Evidently the British did not expect to be 
pursued beyond Sandwich as they did not destroy 
the bridges. The road being good, the Americans' 
progress was rapid. Seven deserters from the 
British were met, and the situation was learned 



From 1 8i 3-1 814 287 

from them. The next day, a small detachment 
of the British, which had been sent to destroy 
bridges, was captured. 

Captain Perry received permission to accompany 
the army, and, leaving his boats well guarded, 
his force passed up the River Thames, their small 
cannon driving Aborigines and others away from 
partially destroyed bridges, which were speedily 
repaired for the pursuing army's use. 

The Wyandot chief, Walk-in-the-Water, with 
sixty of his warriors reported, as deserters from 
the British, to Harrison, who, being intent after 
the main foe, told them to pass around to Detroit 
out of the way of the American army. 

The British, being closely pressed, attempted 
to destroy their stores, and everything they could 
not well carry. Near Chatham they set fire to 
a house which contained near a thousand mus- 
kets. These were saved by the Americans. They 
burned other buildings, and three of their small 
boats, which contained artillery and heavy 
munitions, from which Harrison's army saved 
two 24-pounder cannon, and a good quantity of 
ammunition; and early in the morning of the 
5th of October two of the British gunboats and 
several bateaux laden with supplies were cap- 
tured, with more prisoners. The Thames was 



288 The Ohio Country 

crossed at Arnold's Mill, partly by each cavalry- 
man taking an infantryman behind him on 
his horse, and partly by means of the near-by 
bateaux. 

Early in the afternoon of the 5th of October, 
American scouts reported the position of the com- 
bined enemy as near, and well chosen for defence. 
The Americans at once advanced and attacked 
them. The battle was sharp and decisive. The 
pervading spirit was, that there was to be no 
more withstanding of outraged Americans de- 
termined to rid their " Ohio Country " homes of 
the Savage incubi that for about forty years had 
been a blight to their own and their parents' hap- 
piness, and a blot for all time on civilization! 

Johnson's cavalry broke the British lines by 
their impetuous charge, and, in less than five 
minutes (is the record) after the first shot, nearly 
the entire British force threw down their arms 
and surrendered. The Savages started their 
part well, but were, within a few minutes, unable 
to withstand the American rifles. Tecumseh was 
killed, whether by Colonel R. M. Johnson or 
other is not known; and no one could for long 
rally his followers. Proctor with a few followers 
attempted to escape in his carriage, but he was 
so closely pressed that he rushed into the forest 



From 1813-1814 289 

on foot, and later, finding a horse, was sixty-five 
miles from the battle-field within twenty-four 
hours. His carriage, private papers, and many 
valuable military papers were captured. Among 
the battle-field captures were six brass cannon, 
three of which were captured from the British in 
the Revolutionary War but surrendered to them 
by Hull at Detroit. 

The American loss in the Battle of the Thames 
was fifteen killed, and thirty wounded including 
the brave Colonel R. M. Johnson, The British 
loss was eighteen killed, twenty-six wounded, and 
six hundred prisoners including twenty-five offi- 
cers. The Savages left thirty-three of their dead 
on the field. Further is not definitely known, 
but their loss must have been large from wounds 
and want of proper care, they, with Tecumseh, 
being carried from the field on their retreat. 

The American army started on its return to 
Detroit the 7th of October. Harrison preceded 
at a more rapid pace, leaving Shelby in command. 
They arrived at Sandwich on the loth, in a cold, 
driving storm. This storm injured several of 
Perry's vessels on their return from the Thames, 
and caused the loss of much of the military 
property captured. It also put a stop to the 
contemplated movement against Mackinac. 
19 



/ 



290 The Ohio Country- 

Report was soon received that the small British 
garrison had abandoned that post, which was 
probably not correct, as it was a rallying 
point for the northern Savages, and the north- 
western fur trade which had been valuable to the 
British. 

The report of the signal victory at the Thames 
was received throughout the United States with 
illuminations, bonfires, and patriotic addresses. 
General Harrison was lauded; and Congress after- 
wards gave him a vote of thanks, and a gold 
medal. 

General Lewis Cass was appointed civil and 
military governor of the Territory of Michigan, 
and was directed to retain his brigade of soldiers, 
numbering about one thousand, to guard against 
the Savages, and to hold against invasion by the 
British. This appointment was confirmed by the 
United States Senate and Cass continued in this 
office several years, giving good service in his 
multiform duties. 

The fort at Detroit was repaired, and the name 
Lemoult, which it had borne since 1778, was 
changed to Fort Shelby, in honor of Kentucky's 
distinguished Governor. Its site is yet indicated, 
and its name perpetuated, in Fort and Shelby 
streets. 



From 1813-1814 291 

The Kentucky volunteers were permitted to re- 
turn home. They stopped at the River Raisin on 
their way home, and there buried such remains as 
could be found (sixty-five skeletons) of the mas- 
sacred soldiers of General Winchester's army of the 
previous January. Their horses were found where 
left, at the mouth of Portage River, Ohio. 

The Savages, the much valued allies of the 
British, were left without food for the winter 
after the defeat of them and their allies at the 
Battle of the Thames. They had been tutored 
to war, and to complete subserviency to the 
British, and had lost interest in hunting wild 
game for their subsistence. As at the close of the 
Revolutionary War, they turned at once, and with 
as little apparent regret for their past hostilities, 
to the Americans for their support. As formerly, 
they gathered at Detroit in such great number that 
they could not be fully fed by the Americans, who 
were, themselves, scantily supplied. They went 
about the streets gathering and devouring, so far 
as they could, whatever of fragmentax-y food that 
could be given them by the soldiers and citizens. 

Harrison dealt kindly with them; and he as- 
sembled them at Greenville, Ohio, July 22, 18 14, 
where a lasting treaty was effected for their best 
interest. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE OHIO COUNTRY FREE FROM THE SAVAGE 
ALLIANCE 

Proctor's Request and Harrison's Reply — Harrison Goes 
to Reinforce Army of the Centre — Period of Quiet in 
the Ohio Country — General Harrison Resigns — Renewed 
Efforts for Defence and Advance — Scarcity of Food and 
Money — Further Neglect by Eastern Authorities — Ex- 
peditions through Canada — Unfortunate Expedition 
to the North. 

A FTER providing for the garrisoning of the 
'**■ several forts in the old Northwestern Ter- 
ritory, General Harrison, with about thirteen 
hundred soldiers, sailed in Captain Perry's squad- 
ron for Buffalo^ where they arrived the 24th of 

> General Harrison received by messenger Lieutenant 
Le Breton a letter from Major-General Proctor dated 
October i8th (place of writing not given), addressed to him 
at the Moravian towns by the Thames, but delivered at 
Detroit before his departure from that place. This letter 
requested the return of private papers and property cap- 
tured at the Battle of the Thames; also a request for mild 
treatment of the British prisoners and subjects. This 
writing of Proctor was considered by Harrison unnecessary, 

292 



From 1 8i 3-1 814 293 

October, 18 13, to co-operate with the Army of 
the Centre; but Harrison did not remain there 
as a party to the resulting defeats. 

On account of antagonisms in the War Depart- 
ment General Harrison's able and successful 
work in the War of 18 12-14 had been nearly 
completed. He returned to his family in Cin- 
cinnati, where he retained head-quarters until he 
resigned from the army, his resignation to take 
effect May 31, 1814. 

The West and Northwest experienced com- 
parative quiet after the Battle of the Thames. 



as such conduct had been already provided for, and, further, 
it was asking from him what Proctor had not been known 
to accord to Americans. Lieutenant Le Breton was given 
good opportunity to see that the proprieties of civilization 
had been complied with in regard to the British prisoners. 
He was not permitted to return by land, however, but was 
taken across Lake Erie in boat with Harrison. 

He was given in reply a letter dated "Headquarters, Fort 
George, November 3, 1813," addressed, not to Proctor but 
to Major-General Vincent the ranking officer. This reply 
cited three instances, of the many in addition to Winchester's 
and Dudley's troops, of atrocious Savage murders and 
mutilations committed on inoffensive American men, women, 
and children by Savage members of the British army whose 
oflficers were at least privy to the deeds and did not subject 
their perpetrators to discipline. Eloquent protest was again 
made against such atrocious warfare, and demand for its 
cessation, adding that, "The effect of these barbarities will 
not be confined to the present generation. Ages to come 
will feel the deep rooted hatred and enmity which they must 
produce between the nations." 



294 The Ohio Country 

However, food and money again became scarce, 
and some successes of the British over the Army 
of the Centre again brought anxiety to this region. 
The difficulties of properly meeting the require- 
ments for success in this, the then " distant 
western country," in all questions in which 
eastern authorities had the dictation, are shown 
(as a repetition of the old, old story) in the follow- 
ing extracts from a letter to Governor Meigs 
written by General John S. Gano dated " Head- 
quarters Ohio Militia, Lower Sandusky, January 
i6, 1814," viz.: 

"I have the pleasure to inform you that after re- 
peated solicitations and much delay, the paymaster 
has succeeded in obtaining two months' pay for the 
troops under my command. I have sent him on to 
Detroit, as the men there are in great want of money 
to purchase necessaries, etc. 

"Yesterday the Lieutenant and Surgeon of the 
Navy, Champlain and Eastman, left this post for 
Put-in-Bay. They arrived the evening before, and 
report they have everything arranged to give the 
enemy a warm reception should they visit them. 
About forty pieces of cannon can be brought to play 
upon them at any point. I find, however, that they 
want men. I shall send in the regulars from Seneca 
as soon as possible, to reinforce them which is abso- 
lutely necessary from the Lieutenant's representa- 
tions to me. We have not had the detailed account 
from Buffalo, etc. 



From 1813-1814 295 

"Majors Vance and Meek have just arrived from 
Detroit, and give a favorable account from that 
quarter as to the exertions of Colonel Butler, to whom 
I sent Major Vance as an express. There is a detach- 
ment under Major Smiley up the River Thames who 
will, I hope, fare better than Larwell. The militia are 
very tired of the service there, and all are beginning 
to count days. Th^y have had an immense deal of 
fatigue and severe duty to perform. 

"The fort at Portage [by the Portage River, north- 
western Ohio] is progressing and is the best piece of 
work in the Western country as to strength. The 
men draw the timber to admiration — eighty or ninety 
logs a day without a murmur. The teams have been, 
and are, useless for want of forage. The greatest 
part have actually died. I wrote in November to 
Quartermaster Gardiner for funds to be sent to the 
Quartermaster's assistant here to purchase forage, 
which could have been obtained two or three hundred 
miles from here. If three hundred dollars could 
have been sent on, I think it would have saved the 
United States three thousand; and I assure you I 
have used every exertion to preserve and protect the 
public property. 

"As I before observed, nothing will induce the 
militia to remain after their term of service expires, 
which will be the last of next month. ... I am only 
anxious on account of the public property that may 
be left exposed. 

"I have this post in a tolerable state of defence, 
as well as all the posts I command, which, you know, 
are scattered from Dan to Beersheba; and each must 
rely on its own strength for its defence. I have had 
an immense detail business in communication, etc. 



296 The Ohio Country 

"Flour is very scarce at all the frontier posts. I 
have been between 'hawk and buzzard' — the com- 
missary and contractor; and between the two, as 
is usual, must fail. What a wretched system of 
warfare! . . . 

"P. S. An express by a naval officer has just 
arrived from Erie. Lieutenant Packet has given me 
a full account of the loss of the posts below, at 
Niagara. The enemy possessed themselves of the 
artillery, military stores, etc., etc., to a large amount; 
and there is no doubt but an attempt to take or 
destroy the vessels at Put-in-Bay will be attempted, 
and Captain Elliott has requested a reinforcement of 
two hundred men to send to the Island, which I have 
not the power to furnish. I have ordered a few 
regulars from Seneca, and will send a few militia. 
My troops are so scattered, I have no disposable 
force without evacuating some of the posts that 
contain considerable military stores. I wrote to 
General Harrison, some time since, recommending 
him to send on the recruits. They certainly will be 
wanted as soon as the British can move on the ice 
or by water to Detroit or the Islands. I fear we 
shall lose all that has been gained, unless great 
exertions are used to reinforce; and supply of 
provisions is much wanted." 

The garrison of Fort Meigs had suffered much 
from short rations, and, about the middle of 
January, some of the soldiers of the garrison were 
sent up the river to Fort Winchester where they 
obtained as much food as they could carry; and 



From 1813-1814 297 

they transported it to Fort Meigs as best they 
could. Eighty soldiers, a large part of this gar- 
rison, were reported sick January 27, 181 4. 

The fears of attack by the enemy, expressed 
by General Gano, were not realized; but fears 
were often excited during the summer and fall. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Butler, in temporary com- 
mand at Detroit, being informed during the last 
of January or early in February, that a body 
of British, Canadians, and Savages, were by the 
River Thames near Chatham, sent Captain Lee, 
with a squad of cavalry, to investigate. They 
went around the enemy, attacked them fiercely, 
scattered them, taking several prisoners, in- 
cluding Colonel Babie (Bahbie) who led a col- 
lection of western Savages to the New York 
frontier the summer or fall of 18 13. 

A little later in February, 181 4, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Butler sent one hundred and sixty sol- 
diers, with two six-pounder cannon, under Captain 
Jeremiah Holmes, against the British Fort Talbot, 
one hundred miles or more from Detroit, on the 
north shore of Lake Erie. Deeming it unwise to 
attack the fort with his small force. Captain 
Holmes passed across the country to Delaware 
on the Thames, where the enemy, superior in 
numbers, led him on to the Longwoods where they 



298 The Ohio Country 

gave battle for an hour about dark on March 3d. 
Both parties withdrew during the night. The 
American loss was seven killed and wounded. 
These incursions, while showing great activity of 
the Americans in keeping the enemy busy in his 
own domain, lost much of their design from the 
necessarily small forces employed. 

Early in July, 18 14, a small squadron of vessels 
was sent out from Detroit for the capture of 
Fort Mackinac and other points in that region 
important to the British fur trade. Some time 
had been given to preparation for this expedition. 
Arthur St. Clair was in command of the vessels 
Niagara, Caledonia, Scorpion, St. Lawrence, and 
Tigress; and George Croghan, now a Lieutenant- 
Colonel, was in command of the five hundred 
United States troops, and two hundred and fifty 
militia, which had quarters on the vessels. When 
the squadron arrived at Fort Gratiot, recently 
built by order of General McArthur at the head 
of St. Clair River (Strait), Croghan's force was 
augmented by Colonel William Colgreave's regi- 
ment of Ohio volunteers, and Captain Gratiot. 
A desired attack on a new British post by Matcha- 
dach Bay was abandoned, after a several days' 
trial to get through the narrow channels between 
the islands, in foggy weather and without a proper 



From 1813-1814 299 

pilot. Sailing to Fort St. Joseph, toward Lake 
Superior, they found it abandoned. The build- 
ings here were destroyed by part of the ex- 
pedition, while others pressed forward to the 
Sault Ste. ]\Iarie, where they arrived July 21st, to 
find that John Johnson, "a renegade magistrate 
from Michigan," agent of the British Northwest 
Company, had just departed w4th his assistants, 
carrying away all the property possible, and 
setting fire to the company's sloop. This fire 
was extinguished by the Americans, but the 
vessel proving unseaworthy, she was again fired. 
After destroying the buildings, the Americans 
returned to St. Joseph, and the reunited forces 
arrived at Mackinac July 26th. 

Deciding that it was unwise for the vessels 
to attack the fort, Croghan's men were landed, 
and proceeded to a rear attack. They were met 
by such severe fire by the British and concealed 
Savages, that they retreated to the boats with a 
loss of thirteen killed, including Major Holmes, 
and fifty-five wounded, including Captains Van 
Horn and Desha, and Lieutenant Jackson. Two 
were missing. 

Passing to the Nautawassaga River, they 
captured the blockhouse three miles from its 
mouth, but the valuable furs of the Northwest 



300 The Ohio Country 

Company had been taken away, and their vessel 
burned. 

The expedition now sailed for Detroit, leaving 
the Tigress, with Captain Champlain, and the 
Scorpion, with Captain Turner, and crews of 
nearly thirty men each, as blockaders to cut off 
supplies intended for the garrison at Mackinac. 
They served this purpose effectually until the 
night of September 3d, when the Tigress, being 
alone, was captured by a stealthy and over- 
whelming force of the enemy; which force also 
deceived the Scorpion's officers and crew to a 
close contact when she was boarded and over- 
whelmed. 

These disasters, with the loss of the post at 
Prairie du Chien, west of Lake Michigan, on 
July 17th, again increased the apprehensions of 
the Americans throughout the Northwest. 

The Savages becoming more aggressive around 
Lake Michigan, General Mc Arthur was directed 
to gather mounted men to proceed against them. 
He arrived at Detroit, from Ohio, on October 9th, 
with about seven hundred men, gathered from 
Ohio and Kentucky. At this time, the American 
army, under General Jacob Brown, was being 
sorely pressed on the Niagara frontier, and Mc- 
Arthur decided to divert some of the British 



From 1813-1814 301 

forces from that point; and he executed the most 
daring expedition of the war through Canada. 
Starting northward from Detroit, after the middle 
of October, with seven hundred and fifty men and 
five small field cannon, he circled around Lake 
St. Clair, crossed the River St. Clair on the 26th, 
moved rapidly through the Scotch settlement of 
Baldoon, the Moravian towns by the Thames, 
and London, arriving at Oxford, November 4th. 
Here he found a considerable force of militia, 
which he disarmed and paroled; and he punished 
those who violently opposed him by burning 
their houses. He moved eastward, and passed 
through Burford to Brantford, by the Grand River. 
Here, being opposed by the Iroquois Aborigines 
resident there, also by the British and militia, 
he turned southward, attacked the militia at 
Malcolm Hill, by the Grand River, killing and 
wounding seven and taking one hundred and 
thirty-one prisoners. The only American loss 
on this expedition was one killed and six wounded 
in the last engagement. The flouring mill and 
its belongings here were destroyed; also several 
mills on his way to Dover by Lake Erie. These 
mills had been the chief source of supply to the 
British in their operations against the Army of 
the Centre. At Dover, McArthur turned westward, 



302 The Ohio Country 

passed through Simcoe, St. Thomas, and near the 
Thames, being pursued some distance by eleven 
hundred British regulars. On the 17th of No- 
vember this brilliant and successful expedition 
ended at Sandwich. Meantime the western 
Aborigines went into winter quarters, and all 
of the volunteers in Mc Arthur's command; who 
so desired, were discharged. 

General McArthur returned to Ohio, and, with 
his superiors, discussed ways and means for a yet 
more active work against the enemy. 

Overtures for peace having been made, how- 
ever, and peace commissioners appointed by 
Great Britain and the United States, a treaty 
closing the war was signed at Ghent, Belgium, 
December 24, 181 4; and then came the time when 
the United States first entered into the full, 
peaceable, continued possession and jurisdiction 
of the territory west of the Allegheny Mountains, 
and of all its people, of which and whom they had 
been mainly deprived for thirty years after the 
Revolutionary War, notwithstanding the Treaty 
of Paris. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

SUCCESS OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 
ASSURED 

The Treaty of Ghent Closing the War of 1812-14 — Further 
Confirmation of American Claim of Notorious Methods. 

THE Treaty of Ghent was not completed with- 
out difficulty. What were considered by 
Americans as unjust and extortionate claims by 
Great Britain, were urged by her Commissioners 
for recognition, and are here presented as 
further confirmation of the truth of the direct 
assertions and characterizations on preceding 
pages of her wicked policy with the American 
Aborigines, and toward Americans, before, during, 
and between the wars of these countries with 
each other. 

President Madison's Messages to Congress during 
the last war, from May 25, 1813; the discussions 
of Congress; other American State Papers during 
the war; and the contentions of the Commissioners 

3°3 



304 The Ohio Country 

of both parties, were considered by Americans 
as quite sufficient answer to Great Britain's 
Declaration relative to the War of 1812, issued 
from Westminster January 9, 18 13. 

The Peace Commissioners for the War of 181 2- 
14 — Lord Gambier, Henry Goulburn, and William 
Adams on the part of Great Britain, and John 
Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, 
Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin on the 
part of the United States — met in Ghent, Belgium, 
August 6, 181 4, and did not agree upon the form 
of the treaty until December 24th. 

For a long time the wide differences of claims 
portended permanent disagreement ; but gradually, 
after conferences with the respective home gov- 
ernmental authorities, recession from one objec- 
tionable point after another was made by each 
party, the British yielding their most obnoxious 
claims, until the treaty, as signed, was not 
fully satisfactory to either country. 

The principal complaints of the United States 
against Great Britain, causing the War of 18 12, 
were the search of her vessels, the impressment 
of her seamen, the blockade of her ports, and the 
domination of the Western Aborigines. The first 
named points were not gained in the treaty, 
which caused great regret in the East particularly, 



From 1814-1815 305 

though their modification was promised. The 
British felt no need later for the blockade. Some 
indefinite boundaries in the East, and between 
Lake Superior and the Mississippi River, were 
adjusted. 

Early in the treaty negotiations, the British 
Commissioners quibbled against the American 
claims regarding their conduct with the Abo- 
rigines. They boldly, and persistently, claimed 
them as "their allies," and wanted recognition 
of them as such! They held that the United 
States should set apart much of the Ohio Country 
for their especial use; that the United States' 
treaties with them were like treaties between 
individual nations; that "the American Govern- 
ment now for the first time, in effect, declared 
that all Indian nations within its Line of De- 
markation are its Subjects, living there upon 
sufferance, on Lands which it also claims the 
exclusive right of acquiring [sic], thereby men- 
acing the final extinction of these Nations," 
to which they formally protested, and stated 
that their instructions on this subject were 
peremptory. 

The American Commissioners replied pointedly, 
and asked what meant all of the old English char- 
ters, from that of Virginia by Queen Elizabeth, 



3o6 The Ohio Country 

to that of Georgia by the immediate predecessor 
of King George III., if the Aborigines were 
the sovereigns and proprietors of the lands 
bestowed by those charters? 

The British continued their endeavors, however, 
to make all negotiations hinge on their question 
regarding the Aborigines, "their allies whom they 
must protect." The Americans positively ob- 
jected to including the Aborigines in the treaty 
as "Allies of Great Britain," which would indi- 
cate that they were British subjects; and this 
objection prevailed after long diplomatic struggle. 

The continued inebriation of successive genera- 
tions of American Aborigines, and their education 
and confirmation in savagery, for thirty years 
after the Treaty of Paris, as before, forced upon 
the United States not only an untold amount 
of savagery, suffering, and loss of life among her 
citizens, but later left an evil heritage, of enor- 
mous proportions, of evil and degenerate habits 
of the Aborigines, from which the American 
nation has not yet fully recovered, notwithstand- 
ing the expenditure of money and efforts for their 
control, and civilization, many times in excess 
of such expenditures by any other nation for 
barbarous and savage people. 

However, it may well be written that the for- 



From i8 1 4-18 15 307 

bearance of offence, the magnanimity toward 
the conquered, the efforts, money, and lives 
expended by Americans to secure their freedom, 
and some of their rights, have borne much whole- 
some fruit, and thought, for the tempering of 
the savage barbarity of nations; and thereby 
this great forbearance, suffering, and magnanimity 
have already been a blessing to humanity at large, 
that will be more fully recognized and appre- 
ciated in the future than it has been in the past. 

Throughout the long months of diplomatic 
struggle at Ghent, the American Commissioners 
maintained a commendable patience, composure 
with alertness, and w'isdom, which won their 
contention regarding the Aborigines, the honor 
of the western country, and of the nation, on 
this most important question. 

The questions of search and impressment of 
seamen could not long remain without honorable 
settlement, after proper diplomatic relations be- 
tween the two countries were established. 

The signing of the Treaty of Ghent obscured 
the last hope of designing nations for the posses- 
sion of the Ohio Country. All of this vast and 
invaluable region was again, and fully, saved to 
the American Union. 

This War of 1812-1814 also produced a con- 



3o8 The Ohio Country 

dition of wholesome national unity, and a for- 
bearing regard for the Union throughout the East 
and the West, that was unknown before. 

It appears befitting that a few words be added 
regarding the later history of the Aborigines 
who chose to remain in the United States. 

The British continued to trade with those 
along the borders, and kept alive their thirst for 
spirituous liquors, as did many United States 
traders, clandestinely. As late as July, 1832, 
the British traders attracted to Fort Maiden, 
Amherstburg, Canada, one of the largest gather- 
ings of Aborigines of record. They were gathered 
from most parts of the United States, embracing 
even the Flatheads of the extreme West. This 
meeting, and the great flow of intoxicants, spoiled 
the work of the American religious missionaries 
at the nearby station. There was, however, 
little, if any, successful effort of the British agents 
after the Treaty of Ghent to federate the Abo- 
rigines for war against the United States. 

This government continued the policy of 
enforcing temperance among these wards of the 
nation; also the policy of treating with them and 
purchasing their claims to lands not needed by 
them for agricultural purposes, but needed by 
citizen settlers; in consonance with the truism 



From 1 8i 4-1 815 309 

that no barbarous people, and much less savage 
ones, have right to lands for hunting purposes, 
that are needed for civilized people and for the 
advance of civilization. 

Nearly all of these Aborigines were removed 
west of the Mississippi River in the 1830's and 
early 1840's. 

Schools founded by the United States, as well 
as denominational religious schools, have multi- 
plied for their education by means of book and 
industrial methods. Many have become citizens, 
and own land in severalty. Through the paternal 
methods of the general government, many are 
now wealthy and prospering. 



INDEX 



Aborigines, condition of, 3- 
1 5 ; after Revolutionary 
War, iq; after Treaty of 
Greenville, 162 ; aggressors, 
52-53; American captives 
with, 38; forbidden to buy 
land from, 22; efforts for 
best interest of, 202, 306- 
309 ; inquiriesregarding, 46, 
48-50, 82 ; lesson to, against 
British savagery, 279; short 
rations to, at Detroit, 291 ; 
treaties with, see under 
Treaties; British allow- 
ances to, 20, 184-185, 189; 
Dorchester's speech to, 100 ; 
keep them hostile to Ameri- 
cans, 45, 50, 104, 107, 183- 
190; incite them to sav- 
agery, 6, II, 60, 80, 83-85; 
inebriate them, 11, 14, i77. 
308 ; fight with them against 
Americans, 12, 103, 107, 
114-116,225-228, 239-242, 
254-255. 257. 282, 288; 
alliance with them the 
most inhuman in history, 
26; dread of, 8; desire to 
federate them against Am- 
ericans, 6, 8, 84, 90. 98, 
100; forsaken by them, 
242, 285, 287; gain from 
fur trade with, 4, 80, 182; 
govern and guard them, 50, 
100, 261; short rations to, 
20-22, 118; supply them 
with weapons, 11, 85, 178, 
185, 189; cannibalism of, 
50, '77. 193. 202, 227, 240; 



celebrate victories with 
British, 12-15, 60; chiefs 
of, 78-79,142-143.226,287; 
cloyed by wamngs of 
British and French, 7; 
councils, great, by Maumee, 
83, 90; drawn to peace 
by Gen. Wayne, 133-136; 
friendship of few aged, to 
Americans, 244, 250, 260, 
278-279; lesson in American 
patriotism, 139; new gen- 
eration of, 175; payments 
by U. S. to, 47, 164, 169, 
178-179; peace with U. S. 
they did not want, 78; 
begged for, 285; efforts of 
U. S. for, 80, 82-83, 86, 
iii; Prophet, the, 174; 
reservations for, 170-17 1; 
tribes at great councils, 
84, 90; at the greatest 
treaty with, 141 ; savagery 
of the, 47. 52-53. 77. 82, 
250 
Adair, Major John, 85 
Adams, John, 25, 27, 155 
Adams, Colonel, 209 
Allen, Col. John, 207, 224 
American grievances, and 
claims, against Great Brit- 
ain, 91, 92; military posts in 
1809-12, 175-189; Pioneer 
magazine quoted, 77 
Amherstburg, Canada, 147 
Anderson, Colonel, 248 
Armed vessels on Lake Erie: 
American, 272 ; British, 2^ 
Armies, American: Harmar s, 
54-58; Harrison's, 190, 
206-212, 228-293; Hull's, 



3" 



312 



Index 



Armies — Continued 

196, 199; surrender of, 202; 
St. Clair's, 66-77 ; Wayne's, 
86, 95, 108-124; Win- 
chester's, 212-227; against 
France and Spain, 155 
Armstrong, John, Judge, 44 
Arnold, Benedict, at Detroit, 

44 
Ashton, Captain, 66 
Atherton, William, book on 

N. W. Army, 219 
Atwater, Caleb, History of 

Ohio, 76 



B 



Ball, Colonel, 252 

Banner, British surgeon, 260 

Barbee, Colonel Joshua, 213 

Battles: of Fallen Timber, 
113, 126; of Harmar's 
army at head of Maumee 
River, 56-58; of St. Clair's 
army at head of Wabash, 
68; Winchester's at the 
Raisin, 227; sham, for 
discipline, 276; of the 
Thames, Canada, 288; of 
Tippecanoe, 190; naval, 
on Lake Erie, 268-269; 
siege of Ft. Meigs, 235-239 

Black Rock, N. Y., 262-263 

Bond, Phineas, Am. Consul, 
28 

Bondie, Antoine, 210 

Boyd, Ensign, 96 

Brant, Capt. Joseph (Br.), 
42, 63, 87 

Brickell, John, captive, 137- 
138 

British, advance and re- 
treat of, 213-214; advan- 
tages of, 93, 128-129; all of 
naval force of, on Lake Erie 
captured, 269; Am. efforts 
to learn methods of, with 
Savages, 83 ; animus of, 23- 
26; 27-32, 41-44, 50,60, 63, 



go, 94, 99, loo-ioi, etc.; 
army captured at the 
Thames, 288; build Ft. 
Maiden, 147, and abandon 
it to Americans, 283; cap- 
ture Hull's baggage, 200; 
conspire against American 
Union, 41, 173-193; efforts 
for alliance with Savages, 
6, 8, II— 15, 20, 42, 90, 100, 
168, 244, etc.; embarrass- 
ment of, with Aborigines, 
21; fight with Savages 
against Americans, 11-15, 
103, 114, 116, 235, 239, 
288; fiee before Americans, 
283 ; governed by com- 
mercial and ulterior in- 
terests, 23, 32, 41, 78 80, 
182; hold Am. forts, 23; 
strengthen them-, 43, 102, 
118, 1 28; build Forts Miami 
and Turtle Island in U. S., 
loi ; invade U. S., 10 1, 159; 
last claim of the Savages 
as their allies, 305-306; 
martial law of, superseded 
by Am. civil law, 285; 
obstruct Am. development 
and peace, 32, 36, 63, 82, 
87-91; promote savagery, 
11-15, 104-107, 145, 173- 
177, 183-186, 188-189; 
scouts of, 234; supply 
Savages with weapons 
against Americans, 85, 178, 
189; surrender forts in 
U. S., 148 
Brown, John, of Kentucky, 62 
Brownstown, Michigan, 

treaty at, 171, 261 
Brush, Capt. Henry, saves 

his command, 203 
Buntin, Capt. Robert, 154 
Burbeck, Major Henry, 97 
Burke, Reverend, 136 
Burr, Aaron, 165 
Butler, Col. John (Br.), 87 
Butler, Lieut. -Col., 295, 297 
Butler, Richard, Treaty- 
Corn., 35; Gen., slain, 74 



Index 



313 



Campbell, Lieutenant, 241 
Campbell, Maj. William (Br.), 

Canada, preparations for in- 
vasion of, 277-278; ad- 
vance of Am. army into, 
280-282 ; expeditions 
through, 280-282, 295, 297- 
302 

Cannibalism of the Savages, 
50, 77, 193. 202, 227, 240 

Carleton, Sir Guy, 11; see 
Dorchester, Lord 

Carmarthen, Marquis of, 2 7 

Cass, Lewis, Col., 199; Gen., 
252; Gov. of Michigan, 290 

Champlain, Lieut., 294, 300 

Chatham, Lord, quoted, 25 

Chauncey, Com. Isaac, 263 

Chew, Joseph (Br. Sec), 129 

Chicago, 193, 201 

Chickasaw Bluffs, Miss., 180 

ChiUicothe, Ohio, 198 

Chittenden, Thomas, Gov., 
24 

Cincinnati, Ohio, named, 49 

Civil government organized: 
in counties: Hamilton, 49; 
extended, 81; Kent, 151; 
Knox, 54; St. Clair, 49; 
Washington, 46; Wayne, 
151; States: Kentucky, 85; 
Ohio, 162; Territories: Il- 
linois, 172; Indiana, 158; 
Kentucky, 54; Louisiana, 
160; Michigan, 165; Mis- 
sissippi, 156; Missouri, 192; 
Northwestern, 44, 157; 
Ohio, 158 

Clark, Col. George R., 14, 35, 
40 

Clark, Gen. William, 175- 
176, 184 

Clarksville, Kentucky, 49 

Clay, Gen. Green, 237, 245, 
250, 252-253 

Clinton, Gov. George, New 
York, 24 

Colgreve, Col. William, 298 



Communication, development 

of, 161 
Connecticut cedes to the 

U. S. claims in Ohio, 39, 

158; payments of land 

company to Aborigines, 

164 
Connolly, John, 43 
Conspiracy of British and 

Tecumseh, 173-193; of 

Chief Nicholas, 6; of Pon- 

tiac, 7 
Complanter, Seneca chief, 84 
Croghan, Capt. George, 248, 

257-259. 298-299 
Councils, great Aborigine, 

83-91 

D 

Danville, Kentucky, 52 
Davidson, Lieutenant, 200 
Dayton, Ohio, 196 
Debts, individual Br., State 

laws regarding, 28 
Defiance, Ohio, 213, 214, 216; 

see Fort Defiance 
Denny, Ebenezer, report of 

St. Clair's defeat, 68, 75 
De Peyster, Maj. Arent S., 

14, 19, 21 
Desha, Captain, wounded, 

299 . , T. 

Detroit, principal Br. post, 
10-17, 43. 45. 50. 55. 65, 
87, 99-101, 114, 120; sur- 
rendered to Americans, 
148-149, 151, 154; British 
invade, 159; treaty at, 
169; trading post at, 181, 
196, 198; surrendered to 
Br., 202; again occupied 
by Americans, 285; Gen. 
Shelby at, 290; short ra- 
tions at, 291 

Dickson, Scotch trader, 245 

Dill, Captain, 197 

Doolan, James, 253 

Dorchester, Lord, engaged 
in savage work, 11, 43; 
addresses Savages, 1 00, 



314 



Index 



Dorchester — Continued 

102; orders surrender of 
Am. forts, 147 

Douglas, Ephraim, Am. agent 
to Aborigines, 19, 22 

Doughty, Major, 49 

Dudley, Col. William, massa- 
cred, 238 

Dunlap, Colonel, 198 

Dwight, Th., preferred dis- 
union to war, 99 



E 



Eastman, Surgeon, 294 

Elliott, Captain, 296 

Elliott, Lieut. Jesse D., 262- 
263, 266 

Elliott, Matthew, Br. agent, 
Capt. and Col., 83, 88, 100, 
106, 147, 214 

Emissaries, British, French, 
and Spanish, 99, 192; 
Spanish, 152, 154; the 
Prophet's, 175 

England, Col. Richard (Br.), 
loi, 106, 1 19, 146 

Erie, Pa., 263, 265-266, 296 

Eustis, William, 198 

Expeditions, against the Sav- 
ages, 38, 48, 51-52, 64, 66, 
220-221; through Canada, 
280—282, 295, 297—302; 
against Mackinac, 298-300 

Explorers, French, i ; Brit- 
ish, 2 

F 

Fasting and Prayer, day of, 
276 

Federalists, adverse influence 
of, 99, 161, 186-187 

Findlay, Col. James, 197-198, 
213 

Findlay, Ohio, 198 

Firelands, 164 

Forts: abandoned by British 
in 1796, 145; Adams in 
Ohio, 109, 124, in Missis- 
sippi, 157; Amanda, 215; 
Auglaize, 125; Ball, 217; 



Barbee, 213, 215, 217, 
Dearborn, Chicago, 181; 
201; Defiance, iii, 112, 

114, 116, 117, 121, 122,- 

124-126, 137, 138; Deposit, 
Wayne's, 112, 113, Win- 
chester's, 223, 228—229; 
Erie, British, 88, 262-263; 
Feree, 216; Findlay, 190, 
198, 217; Finney, 37; 
George at Niagara, 227, 
264; Greenville, 96, 105, 
123, 125;. Hamilton, 67, 
73. 83. 85; Harmar, 46; 
Harrison, 210, 211, 213; 
Hawkins, Ga., 180; In- 
dustry, 164-165; in 1 80 1, 
160; Jefferson, 67, 76, 96, 
97; Jennings, 213, 215; 
Lemoult, Detroit, 13, 147, 
148, 290; Loramie, 125; 
McArthur, 197, 217; Mack- 
inac, 147, 181, 201, 298; 
Madison, 181 ;Malden,Brit- 
ish, 147, 168, 189, 192, 
200—201, 214; Massac, 100, 
252; Meigs, 230-231; be- 
sieged, 235-243, 251, 278, 
297; Miami, British, 101, 
102, 115, 119, 145; Miami, 
American, 147, 148, 201; 
Necessity, 197, 217; Osage, 
181; Piqua, 125; Pitt, 48; 
Portage, 229, 252, 295; 
Prairie du Chien, 300; 
Recovery, 97, 102, 105; 
Refuge, 85, 187, 205; St. 
Clair,96; St. Joseph, 299; St. 
Marys 125; St. Stephens, 
180; Seneca, 251; Shelby, 
290; Spanish, 153, 157; 
Stephenson, 256; Steuben, 
48, 66; Turtle Island, 
British, loi, 118, 119; 
Vincennes, 40, 48; Wash- 
ington, 40, 54, 57, 67, 05, 
148; Wayne, 56, 124, 132, 
135. 137. 149. 162, 178, 181, 
186, 188, 193; besieged, 
207-208, 210; Winchester, 
216, 229, 245, 276, 296 



Index 



315 



Fourth of July celebrations, 

139. 249 
France and Spain, offended 

by Jay Treaty, 152-155; 

emissaries of, 99, 152, 154 
Frankfort, Kentucky, 205 
Franklin, Benjamin, quoted 

about the British, 28 
Fremont, Ohio, 217 
Fur trade, American, 92, 163, 

182; British, 4, 80, 182 



Gaines, Colonel, 254 

Gamelin, Antoine, peace 
agent, 49 

Gano, Gen. John S., report, 
294-296 

Gardiner, Quartermaster, 295 

Germain, Lord, savagery of, 
II 

Ghent, Treaty of Independ- 
ence at, 302—307 

Gibson, Captain, slain, 105 

Girty, Simon, renegade, 88 

Grasson, Surgeon, slain, 74 

Gratiot, Captain, 298 

Greenville, Ohio, Wayne's 
treaty at, 139-143; second 
treaty at, 291; see Fort 
Greenville 

H 

Haldimand, Sir Frederick, 

Gov. of Canada, 23, 24 
Hamilton, Alexander, 93 
Hamilton, Captain, 237 
Hamilton, Henry, Lieut. -Gov. 

of Canada, 10 
Hamilton, Ohio, 67 
Hammond, George, ist Br. 

Min., 31, 91, 93 
Hamtramck, Maj. John F., 

54, 82, 132-133; report, 

145-146, 148 
Hardin, Col. John, 48, 56-57, 

64; murdered by Savages, 

82 
Harmar, Gen. Josiah, 40, 45, 



51; disastrous ex. agt. 
Savages, 54-58, 67 

Harrison, William H., Sec. 
N. W. Ter., 156; ist Rep. 
in Cong., 157; ist Gov. of 
Ind., 158, 163, 175, 177- 
178; Gen., 182-184, 186- 
187; at Battle of Tippe- 
canoe, 1 90 ; visits Kentucky 
205-207; supersedes Gen. 
Winchester, 214-216, 228; 
builds Ft. Meigs, 230, 231, 
234; broad supervision of, 
248, 252-253, 256; urged 
bldg. armed vessels on 
Lake Erie, 263; captures 
Br. army at the Thames, 
288 ; goes to aid Army of the 
Centre, 292; resigns mili- 
tary com., 293; at second 
Treaty of Greenville, 291 

Heald, Nathan, in com. Ft. 
Dearborn, Chicago, 193 

Henley, Samuel, Quarter- 
master, 148 

Hicks, Lieut. Porter, sur- 
renders Ft. Mackinac, 201 

Holmes, Capt. Jeremiah, ex. 
through Canada, 297 ; slain, 
299 

Hospital ships, 280 

Howard, Spanish General, 

153 

Howard, Gov. of Missouri 
Territory, 192, 206 

Hull, William, Col., 24; Gov. 
Mich. Ter., 165, 167-168, 
171, 177, 185, 193; urges 
mil. and naval forces, 195- 
196; commissioned Brig.- 
Gen., and marches to De- 
troit, 196-201; surrenders 
to Br., 202-203 

Hunt, Col. Thomas, 207 



Illinois Country, 48, 99 
Illinois Territory organized, 
205 



3i6 



Index 



Indiana Territory organized, 

20S 

Indians, a misnomer, 5; see 
Aborigines 

Inefficiency of TJ. S. Govern- 
ment, 151 

Inness, Judge Henry, 52, 62 

Interpreters at Treaty of 
Greenville, 141 

Ironside, George, Br. trader, 
advice of, to Savages, 126 



Jackson, Lieut., wotmded, 
299 

Jefferson, Thomas, Gov. of 
Va., 16; Sec. of State, 31; 
in Congress, 34; Sec. of 
State, 93 ; against Spanish, 
100; President, for La. 
pur., 160; advice to sav- 
ages, 167-168 

Johnson, Col. Guy, Br. agent, 
26, 84 

Johnson, Lieut. -Col. James, 

27s 
Johnson, Sir John, Br. agent, 

ad. to Savages, 22, 42, 84 
Johnson, Col. John, 181, 185- 

186 
Johnson, John, renegade, 299 
Johnson, Col. Richard M., 

208, 245, 248-249, 275, 

wounded, 289 
Johnson, Stephen, clerk, slain, 

211 
Johnson, Sir William, Br. 

Supt., 84 

K 

Kaskaskia, Illinois, 54 
Kentucky, 53 ; organized as 
Territory, 54; troops of, 
54, 56, 103. 108, 123, 205- 
208, 240, 277; Board of 
War of, 62 ; organized as 
State, 85; disunion emis- 
saries in, 99, 152 
Kethtipecanunk, Ind., 65 



King George III., timidity of, 
25; for savagery, 26 

Knox, Gen. Henry, Sec. of 
War, 24, 47; reports of, 
75, 80-91 



Lafayette, Ind., 64 

Lake Erie, armed vessels 

recommended for, 196, 

262-264 
Lake St. Clair, 280, 289, 301 
Land offices in Ohio, 158 
Land titles at Vincennes, 49 ; 

in Ohio, 158 
Larwell, Major, in Canada, 

295 
Lasselle, brothers, deserters 

from Br., 133-134 
LeChauvre, Br. trader, 136 
Lee, Arthur, Treaty Com., 35 
Lee, Captain, expedition 

through Canada, 297 
Leftwich, Va. General, 231 
Le Maitre, Francis, Br. Mil. 

Sec, 119 
Lewis, Capt., messenger to 

Canada, 147-148 
Lewis, Col. William, 207, 224, 

227 
Lincoln, Benjamin, Sec. of 

War, 19; Peace Com., 86 
Loftus Heights, Miss., 157 
Logan, Benjamin, on Board 

of War, 62 
Logan, Capt. John, 207-8 
Lossof life, 38, 45, 47, 51-53; 
in Harmar's army, 58, 64, 
66; in St. Clair's army, 
74, 82, 86, 96, 102-105; in 
Wayne's army, 114, 121- 
122, 187; in Harrison's 
army, 191, 213, 219-221; 
Winchester's army, 226- 
227; at siege of Fort Meigs, 
235, 238, 242-243, 250- 
251; at Fort Stephenson, 
257-258; in Perry's battle 
on Lake Erie, 271 ; in Har- 
rison's battle of the Thames 



Index 



317 



Loss of life — Continued 
289; in expeditions in Can- 
ada, and North, 298-299, 
301 

Lower Sandusky, Ohio, now 
Fremont, 217 

Lowry, Lieut., slain, 96 

M 

M'Afee, Capt. Robert B., 208, 

219, 251, 276, 279 
McArthur, Col. Duncan, 196, 

i98;Gencral, 252, 278, 286; 

exp. through Canada, 300- 

302 
McCune, Captain, 252-253 
McKee, Alexander, Br. agent, 

85, 87, 91, 100, 104-106, 

115, 118, 119, 127, 129, 

134, 168, 185 
McKeehan, Surgeon, 260-261 
McMahon, Major, 102-103 
McPherson, Captain, 200 
Madison, Maj. George, 226- 

227 
Madison, Pres. James, 198, 

303 
Marietta, Ohio, 49 
Marschalk, Captain, 148 
Mason, J., Supt. trading 

agencies, 180 
Massachusetts cedes claim in 

the Ohio Country, 36 
Massacres by the Savages, 79, 

202, 221, 238, 241 
Massie, Lieutenant, 134-135 
May, William, 83, 85 
Meek, Major, 295 
Meigs, Gov. Return J., 196, 

202, 205 
Miami Villages, 50, 56-57, 

66, 1 10, 122, 132 
Michigan Territory organized 

165; under British rule 

until 1 796, 148 ; settlements 

in, 191-192; 285-286, 290 
Miller, Christopher, captive, 

III, 1 14 
Missouri Territory organized, 

192 



Money, kinds of in 1796, 149 
Montjoy, Lieutenant, 252 
Montreal merchants lose 

trade, 80 
Morris, Gouvemeur, agent to 

London, 28 
Morrow, Jeremiah, Peace 

Com., 202 
Muir, Br. Major, 234, 238 
Murray, Br. Major Patrick, 

55 

N 

Navarre, Peter, messenger, 
225 

Navigation of Mississippi 
River, 39, 40, 99 

Navies on Lake Erie, Am. 
and Br., 262-273 

Newport, Kentucky, U. S. 
Arsenal in, 277 

Niagara, 199; frontier re- 
lieved, 300-302 

Northwestern Territory, con- 
ditions in 1814, 294-296. 
See under Civil Organiza- 
tions 



O 



Ohio Company of Associates, 

Ohio Country, eiTorts to open 
for settlers, 36; increasing 
interest in, 157; uniform 
land titles in, 49, 158 

Ohio Territory, population 
of in 1796 and 1800, 159; 
in 1802, 162; organized as 
a State, 162 

Ohio troops first in the field 
in the War for Independ- 
ence, 196, 199; surrendered 
to the British by Gen. Hull, 
202, 203—204, 209, 213; 
Gen. Tupper's com., 217, 
252, 266, 280, 294—296 

Oliver, William, messenger, 
181, 237 

Ordinance of 1787, 44 



ii8 



Index 



Ottawa Towns, 213, 217 
Ouiotenon, Ind., 64-66 
Overton, Major, 226 
Owens, Col. Theodore D., 253 



Packet, Lieutenant, 296 
Parsons, Samuel H., Judge, 

44 

Patriotism, absolution from, 
207-208 

Paul, Col. George, 252 

Payne, General, 228 

Peace Commissioners, 86; 
prisoners of the British, 88 ; 
report of, 91; for closing 
War of 181 2, 302; over- 
tures unavailing, 80, 82; 
victory of, 131; Wayne's 
last overture for, 1 1 1 

Pennsylvania, savagery in, 
79; troops from, 48, 54, 56, 
216, 231 

Perry, Oliver H., builds 
armed vessels, 263-273; 
captures all of Br. squad- 
ron, 269; aids invasion of 
Canada, 286; loses trophies 
in storm, 289; goes to 
Buffalo, 292 

Perrysburg, Ohio, 230 

Pickering, Timothy, 86 

Pinckney, Thomas, ist Min- 
ister to Great Britain, 3 i 

Piqua, Ohio, 206 

Pogue, Colonel, 215 

Pontiac, 7, 79, 172 

Population, of Michigan Ter. 
in 181 1, 191; of Ohio Ter. 
in 1796 and iSoo, 159; in 
1802, 162 

Poquette, Francis, slain, 159 

Port Clinton, Ohio, 277 

Porter, Capt. Moses, 148 

Presque Isle, of Maumee 
River, 113, 223 ; of Maumee 
Bay, 229; Erie, Pa., 263 

Prisoners, Am., 201, 227, 243 ; 
Br. 243, 260, 273, 289 

Proclamations, of neutral- 



ity, 31, 100; for peace by 
Pennsylvania,Virginia, and 
Gen. Wayne, 81-82 
Proctor, Col. Thomas, 63 
Proctor, Col. and Gen. Henry 
A., Br., at Battle of the 
Raisin, 227; Siege of Fort 
Meigs, 235-239; at Fort 
Stephenson, 259; down- 
fall at the Battle of the 
Thames, 288; asks more 
than he would accord to 
others, 292 
Prophet, the Shawnee, 174— 

189 
Put-in-Bay, Lake Erie, 266, 

271 
Put-in-Bay Island, 271, 296 
Putnam, Gen. Rufus, 82 



Q 



Quebec, 227 

Quincey, Josiah, opposed 
Louisiana purchase, 187 



R 



Raisin River, lesson of defeat 
at, 228 

Randolph, Gov. Beverly, 62, 
86 

Refuge forts built, 85, 187, 
205 

Religious missionaries, 6, i 59 

Reports, from Am. mil. posts, 
175-189; Gen. Gano, 294- 
296; Col. Hamtramck, 132- 
136; Peace Commissioners, 
91, 95—96, 102, 112, 114, 
116, 117, 127, 140 

Reservations: for Aborigines, 
170; for United States, 35 

Revolutionary War, no peace 
after, 1 7 ; see under War 

Reynolds, James, Surgeon's 
Mate, 200 

Richardson, Br. Major, re- 
port of cannibalism, 239 

Richardville, Chief Jean B., 
, ^34 



Index 



319 



Rivers, along which the 
Aborigines Uved, derived 
much of their food, and 
passed their happiest mo- 
ments when not on the 
war-path : Auglaize, 75, 83- 
84, 90, 97, 105-106, 109, 
III, 125, 169, 245; Blan- 
chard, 197, 213, 217; Cuy- 
ahoga, 35, 39, 249; Detroit 
Strait, 267, see under De- 
troit; Eel, 65, 66, 82; 
Illinois, i64;Mad, 39;Mau- 
mee, 35, 49-51. 54-5^, 59, 
65-66, 75, 82, great coun- 
cils by, 83-91, loi, 104- 
106, 109; excels in beauty, 
no, great emporium of 
the hostiles, iio-iii, 115, 

118, 125, 128, 146, 164, 
169, 196, 199, 207, 245; 
Miami, 37, 67, 125; Mis- 
sissippi, discovery of, i ; 
navigation of, 39, 4°. 99; 
Niagara, 263-264; Ohio, 
Rapids of, 45, 47-49. 65- 
66, 88-89, 98, 148, 164; 
Portage, 229, 252, 266; 
Raisin, battle and massacre 
at, 2 24-2 27,291; Sandusky, 
35, 128, 216; St. Clair 
Strait, 298, 301; St. Marys, 
124, 208; Scioto, 81, 142, 
174, 197; Swan Creek, 118, 

119, 164; Thames, Canada, 
286-287, 297; Tiffin, no; 
Tippecanoe, 174, 190; Tus- 
carawas, 35; Wabash, 45, 
48-49, 54, 64, 66, 68, 82, 
154, 1 64; White, Ind., 153 

Roads, treaty for, 1 71-172 
Roche de Bout, Rock point, 
French landmark in Mau- 
mee River, 112, 145, 196 



St. Clair, Arthur, 43; Gov. 
N. W. Ter., 44, 46, 49. 
54-55. 63, 66; army, 67; 
defeat of, 68, 75, 81 



St. Clair, Arthur, naval offi- 
cer, 298 

St. Marys, Ohio, 125, 208 

Sandusky, Ohio, i8i 

Sargent, Winthrop, Sec. N. 
W. Ter., 44, 54, 151, i53; 
Gov. Miss. Ter., 156 

Savages, allied to Br. against 
Americans, 11-17; massed 
with Br., 235; see, also, 
vmder Aborigines, Massa- 
cres, and Cannibalism 

Scalps, bought of Savages, 
6, 13, 282; exhibited to Br. 
to show effective work, 104 

Schaumberg, Captain, 146, 

154 

Scott, Gen. Charles, 51, 62, 
64-65; reinforces Wayne, 
108, 122; Gov. of Ken- 
tucky, 205 

Scott, Colonel, 207 

Scott, Col., afterwards Gen., 
Winfield, 263 

Settlements, 45; inefficient 
protection of, 60; receive 
impetus and stability, 160, 
171; petition for protection 
I 90-1 9 I 

Shelby, Gen. Isaac, member 
Board of War, 62; Gov. of 
Kentucky, 277; with Har- 
rison at Battle of the 
Thames, 289 

Sickness : influenza (la grippe) 
in Wayne's army, 95-96; 
among the British and 
Savages, 119; in Winches- 
ter's army, 218-219; at 
Fort Meigs, 247 

Siege, of Fort Wayne, 207- 
209; of Fort Meigs, 238- 
242; second investment, 
251-255 
Simcoe, Col. John Graves, 
Lieut. -Gov. Canada, 80, 
86, 100; builds Ft. Miami 
by Maumee, loi, 114, 127- 
128 
Sinclair, Capt. Patrick, Br. 
Com. Fort Mackinac, i 5 



32p 



Index 



Slaves, African, at Detroit, 
191 

Slocum, Charles E., History 
of The Maumee River 
Basin, 21, 136; on the six 
Forts Miami, 201 

Slough, Captain, at St. Clair's 
defeat, 68 

Smiley, Major, Expedition 
through Canada, 295 

Spain, scheme to capture 
territory of, 43, offended 
by Jay Treaty, 152; builds 
forts in Am. territory, 153; 
abandons forts, 157; pro- 
tection of against Br., 155; 
cedes Louisiana to France, 
160 

States organized, see under 
Civil Organizations 

Steuben, Baron von, 23 

Stewart, Commander, 196, 
262 

Stickney, Major Benjamin F., 
193 

Symmes, John C, Judge, 45 



Tecumseh, Shawnee chief, 
conspiracy of with the 
"Prophet" and Br., 174, 
182, 187, 189, 254; slain, 
288 

Temple, Sir John B., Br. 
consul, 27 

Territories west of the Alle- 
ghany Mts.: N. W., 80, 
144, 146, 156, 158; S. W. 
141, 144, 156-157; see 
also, under Civil Organiza- 
tions, Northwestern Terri- 
tory, Ohio Country, and 
Union with U. S. Imperilled 

Tiffin, Ohio, 217 

Tories, loyalists, 30, 43, 93 

Trading agencies for the Ab- 
orgines, 128, 177, 180, 182 

Treaties, with Aborigines: 
1784, 34; 1785, 35, 36; 
1786,37-38; 1789, 46:1792, 



82; 1795, 138-143; 1803, 
163; 1804-05, 164-165; 
1807, 168-170; 1808, 171- 
172; 1809, 178-179; 1814, 
291 ; object of, 173 
With Great Britain: 1783, 
at Paris, 18, 23, 24; 1794, 
by John Jay, 146; 1814, at 
Ghent, 302—307 
With Spain, 1795, 144 
Between France and Spain 
against the U. S., 1 796, 152 
With France, 1800, 160 
Trimble, Major David, 237 
Truman, Alexander, peace 
messenger, killed by the 
Savages, 82 
Tryon, Gov. William, Br., 13 
Tupper, S., agent, 177; Gen., 

204, 217 
Turner, Captain on Lake Hu- 
ron, 300 

U 

Union with United States 
Imperilled, 40, 43-45, 152- 
154, 161, 166 

United States beset on all 
sides, 98-99; see under 
Federalists; inefficiency of 
government of, 60—61 ; mil- 
itary posts held by Br. 
in, 23 ; reservations of land, 
35, 138-143; troops of, 45, 
48-49, 55-57. 67, 72, 96, 
252—253, 262, 266 

Upper Sandusky, Ohio, 217 

Urbana, Ohio, 196, 204 

V 

Vance, Major, 295 

Van Horn, Capt., wounded, 

299 
Vamum, James M., Judge, 44 
Vincennes, 49, 179, 196 
Virginia, cedes claim in Ohio 

Country to the U. S., 34; 

troops from, 48, 62, 216, 

231 ; savagery in, 79 



B 



T> 



21.4 



Index 



321 



w 

Walker, Lieut., slain, 234 

War, Board of, 62 

War of 181 2, the War for 
Independence, 1^5; Inde- 
pendence assured, 307-308 

Washington, George, General, 
16, 23, 26; President, 44, 
49,58.63,75.80-81,84,86, 
100, 102; Lieut. -Gen., 157 

Wayne, Gen. Anthony, chos- 
en to lead third army 
against the Savages, 81, 
83-84; reports to Sec. of 
War, 95-96, 102, 112, 114, 
116, 117, 127, 140; meets 
hydra of opposition, 100; 
is caught under falling tree, 
109; at Battle of Fallen 
Timber, 113; makes treaty 
at Greenville, 138-143; 
death of, 149, 1 150 

Wells, Capt. William, 175, 
201; murdered and eaten. 



Western confederacy advo- 
cated, 40, 43-45, 152-154, 
161, 165-166 

Western Reserve, Connecti- 
cut's, 39, 158, 164 

Wilkinson, Gen. James, 43, 
64, 66-67, 76, 82, 97; suc- 
ceeds Gen. Wayne, 146, 
148, 157 

Williams, General, 149 

Winchester, Gen. James, 206- 
207; great sufferings of 
his army at Defiance, 218- 
220, 222—223; army de- 
stroyed at the Raisin, 224- 
226 

Wood, Capt., builds Fort 
Meigs, 230-231 

Worthington, Thomas, 198, 
202 

Wyllys, Major, slain, 57 



Zeisberger, Rev. David, diary 
quoted, 21 



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